Why it matters
The producer
The Post House name comes from the homestead's earlier life as the Helderberg Post Office in the early 1900s. Hermann Gebers bought the farm in 1981, in the area between Somerset West and Stellenbosch.
Harvest begins with small fruit bins, sorting, light crushing and destemming. Red grapes ferment in open stainless steel tanks with naturally occurring vineyard yeasts at 28 to 30°C. Malolactic fermentation takes place in 225 litre French barrels, followed by 18 to 20 months of maturation with minimal handling.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
The winery occupies a ridge between Somerset West and Stellenbosch, overlooking False Bay, Cape Point and the Helderberg Mountains. The vineyards lie at the foothills of those mountains, with red varieties on a gently west facing slope and Chenin Blanc on a cooler south facing slope.
The soil consists mainly of conglomerate gravel, 70 centimetres to one metre deep, over clay. The gravel and clay store water during the wet season and redistribute it to the vine roots during the dry season. Irrigation is supplementary, used mainly around véraison to help the fruit reach optimum maturity.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range places the wooded Stamp of Chenin beside varietal reds and several blends. The producer's current Black Mail is 100% Merlot. Other named wines include Bulls Eye Cabernet Sauvignon, Merry Widow Shiraz and Penny Black.
Black Mail Post House belongs to the red side of the range, while Stamp of Chenin is a barrel fermented, wooded Chenin Blanc. The bottles move between single grape varieties and blends, with Merlot and Chenin Blanc occupying the clearest red and white positions.