Monument Sémillon is a single vineyard wine from a remarkable old vineyard in Franschhoek. This wine represents a bygone agricultural era in the Cape. It showcases great old Cape DNA in a way that few other wines can.

The Name

In many ways, this parcel is a living monument to a bygone agricultural era and to the history of the Cape wine. Of course, Franschhoek is also famous for the Huguenot Memorial Monument.

Vineyards

These grand old vines are farmed by father and son, Anton and Koos Roux on their family farm, La Colline. They are direct descendants of the Huguenot refugee Paul Roux who arrived in the Cape in 1688. Anton’s grandfather planted the vineyard in 1936 on an elevated South facing slope overlooking the valley below. The parcel is situated between 310 m and 350 m above sea-level. The soil is mostly granitic with plenty of quartz.

There are a few different shades of Sémillon growing together here: from emerald green to amber, rose and mauve. These genetic oddities are typical of the Cape’s older Sémillon vineyards, and seem to be extinct in the rest of the world. This affords us the chance to make something unique to the Cape.

Winemaking and Maturation

We pick all of these different shades of grapes together. The grapes are hand sorted and whole bunch pressed. The raw juice is settled overnight with no additions, then racked relatively clean compared to our Chenins. Wild fermentation takes place in old barrels, usually lasting around one month. The wine was kept on primary lees in barrels for 18 months prior to bottling without fining. Very simple, careful winemaking.

Vintage Notes

Very small production this year, but at least this grand old dame is back. Lovely rich nose of lanolin and mandarin, bitter almond and herbs. The palate is layered and graceful, extra-medium bodied, very comfortable in its own skin. Not forceful but very intriguing. I love this vineyard. (extra-medium is a real thing. Don’t judge another man’s tasting note.)

Technical Details

Alc: 13.20% – RS: 1.5g/l – TA: 5.4g/l – pH: 3.30

Grower: Anton and Koos Roux

Bottling date: May 2025

Production: 1319 bottles and 60 magnums

Data Sheet:

https://alheitvineyards.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Monument-Semillon-2024-Factsheet.pdf