Why it matters
The producer
L'Ormarins is a farm in Franschhoek valley that has changed hands once in three centuries and changed direction once in a generation. Jean Roi, a French Huguenot exile, occupied the land in 1694 and named it for his hometown of Lourmarin in Provence. The name held. When Dr. Anton Rupert bought the property in 1968, the Manor House dated to 1811 and the cellar to 1799; both were restored in 1984 and classified as national monuments.
Dr. Anton's son Anthonij took the wine programme in hand, and by 1989 L'Ormarins had won every major South African wine competition. When Anthonij died in 2001, his brother Johann took control and made a concrete decision: he would build a new gravity-fed cellar with a revolving ceiling and an underground barrel hall, dedicated to Anthonij's memory. It opened in 2004. The first vintage under the Anthonij Rupert Wines label followed in 2009.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Franschhoek, whose name translates as French Corner, is a valley in the Western Cape mountains settled by Huguenot exiles from the 1680s onwards. The valley is enclosed on three sides by granite and sandstone ranges that funnel cool air from both the Atlantic and Indian Ocean sides of the Cape Peninsula. That cooling effect lengthens the growing season and preserves acidity in the fruit, which matters for the long-aged style the flagship reds aim for.
The Cape of Good Hope line looks further: Walker Bay and Elgin are cooler still, maritime-influenced addresses where Chardonnay ripens slowly and holds its acidity without the weight that warmer inland sites can produce. The L'Ormarins Brut Classique takes a similar logic into sparkling wine, needing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with enough natural acidity to hold its shape through secondary fermentation in bottle.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
The gravity-fed cellar moves wine by elevation rather than pump pressure, which means less mechanical stress on the skins, seeds, and pulp at every stage from crusher to barrel. The approach suits a style built on tannin and concentration: the Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon carry the kind of phenolic mass that benefits from undisturbed handling.
Barrel ageing runs on French oak, with new-oak percentages high enough to be a deliberate flavour decision. The Merlot 2018 spent 24 months in 50% new French barriques before being bottled without filtration. The bottle then aged a further three years before reaching the market. Unfiltered wine retains more of the tannin and fruit sediment that develops with age; it also requires more time in bottle to integrate. The release timeline built that time in before the wine left the estate.
Wines to know
The range in view
The listed Anthonij Rupert Wines range works in three Bordeaux varieties. Petit Verdot is the most singular: inky and dense, with blue and black fruit, fruitcake aromatics, a thread of charcuterie, bold spice, and a spicy oak grip that the variety carries naturally. Dry tannins hold the long finish. It is the variety least planted in Bordeaux itself and most willing to go its own way in the Cape, which gives the Anthonij Rupert version a character distinct from the Merlot or the Cabernet.
Merlot 2018 runs on bold purple plums and black cherries with fresh acidity balancing oak-derived spice. Layered purple and black berry fruits build through the mid-palate; the finish extends. Bottled unfiltered after 24 months in 50% new French barrique, then three years in bottle, it arrives with more development than most Cape Merlot at the point of sale.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Anthonij Rupert Petit Verdot is the bottle to start with. Petit Verdot is a supporting variety in most Bordeaux blends, planted in small amounts for its colour and tannin contribution; at L'Ormarins it stands alone. The producer's 2016 shows inky and dense fruit, with fruitcake and charcuterie on the nose and a bold spice character from both the variety and the oak. Systembolaget carries the 2017 vintage. Dry tannin grips the long finish. The wine shows what the cellar is aiming at: serious, slow-developing, built for the table rather than the glass. Open it an hour before you sit down.