Walk into the Nederburg cellars and you’ll find quite a few new faces. 

For starters there’s a new cellarmaster. Andrea Freeborough has returned to Nederburg after a decade to succeed her one-time mentor, Razvan Macici. She has taken up her new position after building an impressive reputation as head of the Bergkelder, earning kudos for many Fleur du Cap wines and overseeing the success of brands such as Lomond. Having proven her ability to lead a big team and to simultaneously create both specialty and more popular wines, she was the natural choice.

Previously winemaker for white wines under Razvan at Nederburg, she is thrilled to have come full circle and to be leading a new generation of exceptionally talented and dynamic vintners. Razvan, in turn, as Distell’s recently appointed chief winemaker and wine ambassador, will still advise on new trends and provide technical knowledge for ongoing innovation.

“Andrea is an outstanding winemaker and colleague. We have always worked extremely well together and after my decade and a half at Nederburg, I can think of no better person to continue the journey here,” Razvan said.

He has left in her care an excitingly varied and versatile multi-tiered range. Imprinted in every wine is a refreshing fruit vitality, supported by a classically elegant structure.

The Winemasters tier remains the core offering and the lifeblood of the brand; the 56HUNDRED is very successfully recruiting newcomers; and staples like Duet, Lyric, Stein and Rosé are catering to the traditionalists. The Heritage Heroes gourmet wines are now featuring prominently on wine menus in South Africa and in the UK at, for instance, celebrity chef Marco Pierre White’s Wheelers Rib Room & Oyster Bar and Roger Jones’ The Harrow at Little Bedwyn in Wiltshire. The individually named wines also feature at the luxury Guoman hotel group and the Park Plaza Riverbank.

Then there is the innovative Ingenuity ensemble of interesting connoisseur blends. The recent launch of the 2012 Spanish-style Tempranillo and Graciano wine is the first new wine in eight years in the Ingenuity series, which includes the Ingenuity White, a Sauvignon Blanc-led eight-way blend and an Italian-style red that features Sangiovese, Nebbiolo and Barbera.

At the apex are the Private Bin wines, for exclusive sale at the Nederburg Auction: reds, whites and dessert wines that amply express Nederburg’s consummate ability to make superb fine wines in many appealing styles.

There are also the Fairtrade-accredited wines and the Manor House single variety offerings for select export markets. In the fast-growing dutyfree market the brand has launched a Limited Edition Vintage collection of vintage wines featuring detailed viticultural, winemaking and tasting notes on the labels. Initially targeting the East, these wines, when suitably matured stocks allow, will appear in other markets.

In addition to these extensive responsibilities, Andrea has taken over many of the behind-the-scenes cellar innovations, from the 2013 Amaronestyle wine made from partially dried Grenache and Carignan, a rich and intense red with extraordinary staying power that is ageing in wood, to a Rhône-style white blend of Grenache Blanc, Roussane and Viognier, slated for release soon.

Projects of her own 

Andrea is also introducing some projects of her own. Ageing wine in amphorae made by a local potter is one she is considering. The team is keen to explore the effect of clay vessels on maturation. Amphorae, one of the oldest means for storing wines, are experiencing a revival among winemakers who believe they impart an unrivalled purity and freshness to wines. “This is going to be an exciting discovery,” says Andrea. “The grapes we choose, how we vinify them, especially looking at maceration and the duration of the time in clay, will tell us many things. I love the idea of a wine starting and then completing its process in what is essentially the soil.”

Also on the agenda is the possibility of a full-bodied, hearty, juicy Ripassostyle red for the local market. Meanwhile, the team is very involved in experimenting with Mediterranean white varieties like Albarino, Verdelho and Viura (Macabeo), as well as Cinsaut, once dismissed as a workhorse and now the source of interesting and elegant reds. It is also exploring the potential of Grasa de Cotnari, a Romanian variety very successfully used to make noble late harvest wines.

For quite a while she has been closely involved in studying the influence of wood on wine styles – working with various coopers, using a spectrum of oaks sourced from a variety of European forests – and is looking forward to continuing the project at Nederburg. “We have so many more wines here as the basis for our exploration!”

The team

Andrea is excited by the experience and talent of her team, which makes all of this possible. Samuel Viljoen, who produces the reds, has eight years under his belt in the cellar, preceded by work at several leading local cellars, as well as a stint in the US, in Oregon’s prestige Willamette Valley. Natasha Boks, who is the winemaker for white wines, joined the team in 2013. Her obvious talent is matched by a formidable charm, which earlier this year prompted the doyenne of wine, Jancis Robinson MW, to describe her as a “natural saleswoman” when Natasha presented the Ingenuity White for her to taste.

Their dynamic and gifted viticultural teammate is Unathi Mantshongo, who has spent three vintages at Nederburg, working across the winery’s own four farms plus a network of long-standing and newer suppliers.

Heinrich Kulsen is an assistant winemaker who joined Nederburg a year ago. He was chosen for the prestigious Cape Winemakers’ Guild Protégé programme, was mentored for three years in some of the Cape’s most prominent wineries and worked at Ernie Els Wines, Villiera Wines and Hermanuspietersfontein Vineyards before coming to Nederburg to join the wine-making team.

“Nederburg’s legacy dates back over two centuries,” says Andrea. “A big part of that includes innovation, some of it really game-changing. We have loads of energy and ideas and we’re on a roll. We will keep the momentum going.”