La Motte Winery Guide

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Last updated: April 10, 2024

Winery Overview

One of the Western Cape’s rising stars, La Motte, is everything a premium winery should be. For a start, La Motte boasts an enviable terroir, cultivating over 55 hectares of choice vineyards in the Franschhoek Ward. This appellation now competes with Stellenbosch for South Africa’s finest wine region title. Moreover, La Motte is fortunate to have a dangerously talented team behind its wines, led by cellar master Edmund Terblanche.

However, despite its modern face, La Motte is one of the region’s oldest farms, founded in the late 17th century. In 1695, a piece of land in the Franschhoek Valley was given to a German immigrant, Hans Hattingh, which was subsequently bought by the French Huguenot Pierre Joubert in 1709, who is believed to have named it after the village of his birth in Provence – La Motte d’Aigues. Viticulture on La Motte was established in 1752 by planting 4000 vines by Huguenot descendant Gabriël du Toit.

Yet for all La Motte’s historical pedigree, it’s still a (relatively) recent modern success story, having been purchased by the late Dr. Anton Rupert in the 20th century. Arriving at the estate for the first time in 1970, Anton saw the untapped potential of the farm’s terroir for producing fine wines and quickly set about harnessing that potential with his devoted wife’s help.

They soon instigated a major development, restoration, and conservation program, reinventing La Motte into a leading global wine producer and sought-after tourist destination. Vineyards were progressively replanted with noble varieties, employing the latest viticultural practices and building one of the Western Cape’s most impressive cellars.

Today, the farm is run by the dynamic duo Hanneli Rupert-Koegelenberg and her husband, Hein Koegelenberg, CEO of La Motte Wine Estate. Hanneli is a master of all trades, both the estate’s owner and one of South Africa’s leading mezzo-sopranos! Together, they make a formidable team, especially when they harness the talents of winemaker Edmund Terblanche. Their aim has always been to produce excellent (and affordable ) fine wines, and this splendid collection is certainly worth seeking out. Indeed, everything impresses, but for our money, Hanneli R is the jewel in the crown – a rich, structured wine of great finesse and breeding—a fitting testament to its remarkable owners’ talent, energy, passion, and drive.