In 1699, the Slangrivier Farm, now known as Linton Park, was granted to French Huguenot Louis Fourie. He planted the first vineyards and oaks and also created the first wine cultivated from the fruitful vineyards situated on the slopes of the Groenberg near Wellington. Today, this estate is known for its versatility, producing an array of premium varietals.
Linton Park’s wines are categorised into four tiers consisting of the luxury Linton Park Reserve range, the super-premium Linton Park rage, the premium Louis Fourie range and the entry level range White, Red and Pink Rhino wines.
With 84 ha under vine, the winery has a capacity of 1 000 tons of grapes per year with a white/red production ratio of 50/50. Linton Park produces a host of top quality varietals including Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinotage, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. In addition, they are planting interesting new varietals like Marsanne, Petit Sirah, Tempranillo, Grenache Blanc, Carignan and Mourvèdre to allow our winemaking team to enhance the complexity of their wines.
The high altitude vines, one of the highest vineyards in South Africa, grow more than 500m above sea level, allowing slow ripening of the grapes and development of unique flavours from the mineral rich mountain soils.
Linton Park Winery is also equipped with a new, state of the art cellar featuring perfect synergy between traditional winemaking and modern technology.
Linton Park is a proud member of the IPW. The farm and vineyards adhere to sustainability requirements through conservation of biodiversity, introduction of natural predators; of minimum chemicals; and the use of environmentally friendly packaging. In addition, Linton Park donates a share of their profits to the Save the Rhino International project in aid of conserving this critically endangered animal.
Very recently, Linton Park Wine Estate has been recognized and awarded Gold by Asia Import News Wine & Spirits Awards 2020.
Linton Park De Slangrivier 2017
Singularity, heritage, innovation, variety and commitment come together seamlessly with each Linton Park vintage. The Linton Legacy was bestowed upon the historic De Slange Rivier farm in 1995 with its purchase by a London based multinational sustainability-driven group. Almost 300 years after its 1699 creation, our hidden Cape gem was interwoven into the prestigious portfolio and rich tapestry of Camellia Plc.
In the Vineyard (tendered by Rudolf Jansen van Vuuren)
Our Chardonnay blocks are sited primarily on high mineral soil types. These being Oakleaf, Tukulu and Dundee on the mountain slopes. Supplementary irrigation is undertaken as needed. The Estate range grapes are handpicked at dawn on harvest days to keep the grapes cool for vinification. Our Chardonnay vines are grown in some of the highest and thus coolest blocks on the Estate. These range from 380m to just on 560m above sea level.
The grapes were hand harvested, de-stemmed and crushed. The juice was transferred to stainless steel tanks for controlled fermentation at 12°C for 14 days. The wine was matured in 1st and 2nd fill French oak for just on a year. Before bottling and labelling at the Estate the wine was stabilised and filtered.
Interview of Mr. Herman le Roux – Commercial Director
Question 1: Do you already export to Asia ? If yes, where ? If no, what type of importers & distributors are you looking for in Asia ?
Yes, we export to Guangzhou, Xiamen, Yangcheng, Shanghai, Zhenxing District, Hongcaifeiyang and Yangcheng.
Question 2: What is the most unique and qualitative part of your products, different from competitors ?
Linton Park, situated on the Groenberg slopes in the beautiful Wellington appellation, has an exceptional terroir and fruit yielding from each of our currently planted 30 blocks is characterful of the area. Vineyard sites range from 200m to 500m with the border at 650m. Optimal use is made of different slopes and height above sea level. The team has expertise in planting the ultimate match of grape to soil and slope. Linton Park belongs to a global London stock exchange listed company called Camellia Plc. A total of 29 different families of companies across the horticulture and agricultural sectors, food storage and distribution, private banking, financial services and engineering is part of Camelia Plc.
Question 3: When did you start to export your brand worldwide, and what is your development plan for the next years ?
Linton Park started exporting internationally in the early 2000’s – Asia since 2012.
Thank you Mr. Herman le Roux for you time and answers !
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