Undeterred and committed to making our dream a reality. The History and Philosophy of Paul Clüver Wines.
“As a family-owned and operated winery, we take pride in continuing the legacy of our ancestors by cultivating the land with the utmost respect for nature.”
The story of Paul Clüver Family Wines underscores the importance of visionary people in the world of wine. Be it a Bordeaux 1st growth, a Grand Cru Burgundian label or a cult wine from Napa in California, somewhere there was a person with a vision to establish vineyards on a special place of earth with the goal of making a great wine. Of course, many of these impassioned visionaries did not live to see their dreams realised, for it has taken some of the world’s great wines centuries to attain the rarefied exclusive status and reputation they have today.
In the dynamic wine region of South Africa’s Western Cape, the local wine world has been fortunate to witness a relatively rapid transition between lofty ideals and ambitious foresight into the establishing and furthering of a great winery and a successful brand. Paul Clüver Family Wines is one.
The Clüver family has been custodians of the De Rust farm in Elgin since 1896. Livestock, vegetables and fruit – namely apples – have been farmed by generations of Clüvers, driven by a love the 2 200ha of soil, indigenous plants and mountains comprising De Rust farm. Farming together with a fierce commitment to conserving the unique natural environment of the Elgin biosphere on and around the Groenlandberg, as well as empowering and sustaining the local communities, the name Clüver has always represented the beating heart of family agriculture in Elgin.
Up until the 1980s Elgin was renowned as the apple basket of the Western Cape, the fruit thriving in the cold winter and moderate summer conditions, with the verdant orchards adding to Elgin’s aesthetic appeal as an admired part of the Cape’s natural splendour. At that time, De Rust was owned by Dr Paul Clüver, a renowned neurosurgeon who – in between his specialist medical career – presided over the farming activities on De Rust, this mainly focusing on high-grade apples for the export markets.
In the mid-1980s, Dr Clüver was approached by viticulturists from Stellenbosch Farmers Winery, at that time one of South Africa’s leading producers of fine Cape wines. Thorough research on Elgin’s geographical features, as well as a search for new regions in South Africa suited to the planting of vineyards able to express a unique terroir in the country’s wine-offering, led to this part of the Cape being identified as having the potential of presenting the country’s wine industry with a unique and – up until then – undiscovered wine quality offering. Dr Clüver, impassioned with Elgin and keen to see the region further its reputation as a unique agriculture enclave, agreed to allow Stellenbosch Farmers Winery plant vineyards on De Rust Farm in 1986 – the first vines to be established in Elgin.
From the outset, the results were outstanding. The elevated sites, the hardy Bokkeveld shale soils and consistently cool temperatures – the coolest of all wine regions in South Africa – allowed the vines to grow and mature to the state of health and robustness required to see the developing of grapes with exceptional character. Fresh acidity, balanced chemistries and – above all – suitable for the making of fine wines that express the character of Elgin terroir.
Initially, wines from these first Elgin vineyards were made at the Nederburg Estate in Paarl, with Paul Clüver releasing its maiden wine, a Riesling, in 1990.
Paul Clüver Family Wines built its own cellar in 1996, with Andries Burger being responsible for the first estate vintage, a position he has maintained to this day.
Today the winery’s focus is on the great Burgundian varieties of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with the name Paul Clüver having become synonymous with excellence in these two grape varieties for which it has become renowned locally and internationally. This, the result of terroir-driven wines made with a clear vision and with a relentlessly uncompromising approach to quality and individuality.