South Africa’s Western Cape can be called both the oldest wine region of the New World and the newest of the Old. Capensis, meaning ‘from the Cape’;, captures both sides of that story: heritage and renewal. It reflects the extraordinary quality that comes from old, deep-rooted vines in ancient soils and the precision of a new generation shaping South African Chardonnay for the world stage.
Founded by Barbara Banke of Jackson Family Wines and South African-born winemaker Graham Weerts, Capensis is devoted exclusively to Chardonnay, the varietal Weerts calls ‘the most expressive and complex of the noble whites’. Having spent years crafting Chardonnay in California, he returned home convinced that the Cape’s terroirs could rival any in the world. What defines Capensis is focus: a singular pursuit of excellence through one grape, interpreted across a mosaic of vineyard sites.
The fruit is sourced from five exceptional vineyards across Stellenbosch, Robertson, Overberg and Klein Karoo. At its core is Fijnbosch, the estate vineyard in the Banghoek Valley, with 20 acres of high-elevation Chardonnay rooted in clay and granite soils that bring structure, acidity and citrus brightness. From Overberg’s Kaaimansgat (‘crocodile’s lair’), the highest, coldest and oldest site where vines weather snow and extreme exposure, comes piercing minerality and fine-textured length. Robertson’s E. Bruwer vineyard, set on rare blistered limestone, adds richness and orchard fruit depth. In Stellenbosch, Nooitgedacht at the foot of the Helderberg Mountains overlooking False Bay brings tension and elegance, whilst Vleiplaas in the Klein Karoo contributes purity and mineral restraint from its shale and alluvial soils.
For Weerts, winemaking is a study in patience and partnership with nature. ‘What you put into the vineyards, the soil, the care, rewards you in the outcome,’ he says. The result is a family of wines that speak of place, clarity and craft with quiet authority, Chardonnay that has redefined the Cape’s potential.
