Callender Peak Wines

Callender Peak wines come from the Macdonald farm, 2.5 hours drive northeast of Cape Town. It is one of the most extreme vineyards in SA, situated in the high altitude valley of Agterwitzenberg where freezing temperatures in winter is normal, and even summers are more tempered resulting in slow ripening of the grapes. The vines are planted in the early 2000’s without rootstock, (makstok), which is quite rare in South Africa, especially for Chardonnay.

The valley sits between 750-950m asl and runs north-south. It is behind Tulbagh and is the valley before the Kouebokkeveld. The Olifantsrivier starts here and travels north to eventually spill into the Atlantic at Strandfontein on the west coast. The wines are now made by Donovan Rall and he thinks the Chardonnay in particular is some of the best fruit he has seen in South Africa.