Ernie Els Wines celebrates a significant anniversary this year – the wine that gave rise to an international brand. In this first report of three, Clifford Roberts reports on the milestones of this world-class Stellenbosch cellar.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of one of South Africa’s landmark wines. It’s perhaps hard to believe now, but when that very first vintage of that wine – the blend that was to become the Ernie Els Signature – was released, the Helderberg estate now famous on the Stellenbosch Wine Routes didn’t even exist.
Ernie Els Wines started as a joint venture between Ernie Els and Jean Engelbrecht at Rust en Vrede. From the start, the wine announced itself by pricing among the most expensive in the country – the equivalent of kicking in the front door. For some, the involvement of a celebrity golfer pushed the needle further away from serious wine, into the territory of, well, gimmick.
“For the serious wine consumers in America, The Wine Spectator was the Bible,” says Ernie Els Wines cellarmaster Louis Strydom. Back then, Louis had been winemaker at Rust en Vrede, where he’d started in 1998, and was tasked with the making of this new blend.
At the time, Ernie’s career was going stratospheric. He’d just been given honorary membership of the European Tour for his double victories at the US Open and the three titles at the World Match Play championship. Given the South African lifestyle and love of sport, it could be expected that anyone with green-and-gold blood and the means might add a South African wine to the trophy cabinet.
“For many people, all this was very left field, but we had confidence in the wines, confidence that we could produce internationally relevant wines that could compete with anyone,” says Louis.
When The Wine Spectator published its results that year, it was like winning a World Cup. The maiden vintage Ernie Els Signature had achieved what no other South African red wine had done before. It had topped the ratings.
And just in case anyone dismissed the achievement as a fluke, the team repeated the feat the following vintage.
The victory in America and ensuing recognition elsewhere was a huge boost. It had reaffirmed not only the skills of the winemaker, but more importantly the quality of fruit, sourced from north-facing slopes of the Helderberg Mountain.
“They call the region the Golden Triangle because of its history for producing outstanding wines, especially reds,” says Louis.
Within four years of the joint venture, in 2004, Ernie purchased the farm where we currently are in the Helderberg.
“We planted vineyards and invested in the facilities. Now, people could start to see the wines as real,” says Louis.
In 2010, the joint venture between Ernie Els Wines and Rust en Vrede came to an end. Louis was officially appointed as winemaker at Ernie Els and began to include varietal wines in the portfolio. Support from the wine community was overwhelming, spurring growth. Five years later, they looked at the business anew.
“Ernie was still very much a tour professional, living in Florida, which made operating a burgeoning wine business very challenging. We realised that to maintain our trajectory, the next phase would require investment and a strategic partner.”
That partner was Baron Hans von Staff-Reitzenstein, a German investor and avid wine collector who bought into the property in the second decade of the 2000s.
This new phase put the cellar under the spotlight. While the wines were succeeding internationally, the connection with their provenance could be strengthened.
Fine wines are ultimately about the vineyards and climates that shape them, but galvanising the idea takes more than descriptive words on a back label.
“We needed to get the property closer to the people enjoying our wines,” says Louis.
So, in mid-2018 the cellar was closed for a revamp that eventually took two-and-a-half years. When it re-opened, Ernie Els Wines had been transformed. The contemporary space had the elegance and feel of someone’s home; a place you wanted to be. With an almost monasterial entrance, inter-linking lounges now flowed easily into a restaurant, the Vinothèque and, like almost no other, the winery itself.
Wine was tied to food through the culinary experience; exceptional wine tasting came with an equally breathtaking view from the terrace; and, the Vinothèque spoke of the legacy of Ernie Els Wines.
“The experience begins when you come in the front gate,” says Louis. “And it’s all about excellence that people want to be part of.”
“This is what underscores the story of Ernie Els Wines. Ultimately, it reflects the indomitable South African spirit that has become a proud and infectious trademark around the world.”
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Written by Clifford Roberts.
Images: Kyra Welch
Video: Naseer Samuels
