French investment in SA

Some of their names are synonymous with luxury brands and wines famous the world over, so what were their reasons for investing millions of rands in buying South African wine farms? Fiona McDonald reports."I had a farm in Africa…" Meryl Streep intoned over an operatic score, as her eyes scanned the African savannah from her perch in Kenya's Ngong Hills - a scene of the movie Out of Africa, co-starring Robert Redford and others enacting a story of Belgians and British away from home in the early 1900s.

A century later, France's Anne Cointreau, Jean-Vincent Ridon, Alain Moueix, Madame May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, Christian Dauriac and Michel Laroche are among the European elite who now own (wine) farms in (South) Africa. And then there is a number of French-South African joint ventures… such as Anwilka, in which Hubert de Broüard de Laforest of Château Angelus and Bruno Prats, ex-Château Cos d'Estournel) teamed up with Lowell Jooste of Klein Constantia… Remhoogte, in which globe-trotting consultant Michel Rolland of Château Le Bon Pasteur bought a stake from Murray Boustred… the groundbreaking venture between the Rupert family and Bordeaux's Baron Benjamin de Rothschild to establish Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons… and the initial partnership between Peter Finlayson, Michael Clark and Paul Bouchard of Burgundy which saw the founding of Bouchard-Finlayson.

"The French are funny," says Jean-Vincent Ridon, owner of the Signal Hill winery in Cape Town's CBD as well as the only vineyard in the city of Cape Town, the tiny Clos d'Oranje located in the suburb of Oranjezicht at the base of Table Mountain. "They don't want to take a risk and be laughed at, and they tend to go where other French people go."

Not only is Ridon a French winemaker who has made South Africa his home for the past decade, but he has also helped to broker a number of the deals in that time which have seen other French wine folk invest millions of rands in acquiring a patch of South African vineyard, notably in and around the Simonsberg area of Stellenbosch.

The landowners involved here - Anne Cointreau of both the Cointreau family and the Remy-Martin family of Cognac, Michel Laroche of Chablis, Burgundy, and the Bordelaise Madame de Lencquesaing of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Alain Mouiex of Château Mazeyres, and Christian Dauriac of Château Dassault - would never have committed themselves if they did not believe in South Africa's potential for top quality wines. Although all commented on South Africa's beauty, there was little romance in any of their decisions.

A few factors were common to their decision-making in taking the plunge: South Africa's viticultural and winemaking history and tradition, the quality associated with the country's best wines produced to date, the suitable nature of the terroir, the accessibility, and the strides being made in terms of economic and social development.

Anne Cointreau bought a neglected Morgenhof on the slopes of the Simonsberg from Gert Grobe and partners in 1993. "The decision was taken against advice from others," said Cointreau, recognized as one of the world's 40 best woman entrepreneurs at an international award presentation several years back. She had visited South Africa many times from 1985. "I'd fallen in love with the country, the people and their optimism. I had a very positive feeling for the future of South Africa. The potential was enormous - the country has a wine history of 300 years, some of the best terroirs in the world! And practically, South Africa was easier for me to settle in due to the time zone and having to stay in touch with my other businesses in France."
This was something echoed by Madame May-Eliane de Lencquesaing, who in 2003 bought a run-down fruit farm next to Rustenberg and Nietvoorbij, over the hill from Morgenhof. "I looked for many years," she said - from the Cederberg to Walker Bay. She too developed a fondness for South Africa and its people, having previously visited the country to judge at the South African Airways winelist selection, as the guest of honour at the Nederburg Auction in 2004, and having brought her seven grandchildren here for an extended holiday some years ago.

De Lencquesaing's Glen Elly is almost unrecognizable after just three years and is a testament to the indomitable will of this feisty madame who at 81 shows no sign of slowing down. Since she bought the farm she has spent five days every six weeks at Glen Elly, personally supervising vineyard plantings, road building, renovation and the like. "I don't want to do a Bordeaux. I don't want to copy Pichon. I want to experiment and make a wine that is elegant and drinkable in the medium term - perhaps not long term, like Bordeaux. But we will see, little by little…"

Renowned Chablis producer Michel Laroche visited, investigated and rejected no fewer than 10 wine farms before he purchased L'Avenir in Stellenbosch - also in the Simonsberg. "Trust me, it was not a speedy process," observed former owner Marc Wiehe wryly. "We negotiated for three years before the deal was concluded in 2005."

Laroche's reasons for investing? "I believe South Africa has good potential - when you consider the quality it's possible to produce and also the cost of production. I also like the style of (South African) wine - quite classical, not too exuberant."

While Madame de Lencquesaing had a blank slate with the 125ha fruit farm, 42ha of which have been planted to the Bordeaux varietals of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot, along with Shiraz, Chardonnay and some Riesling, both Cointreau and Laroche had existing plantings to work with. For Laroche, the prime motivators for buying L'Avenir were its size, location, surroundings (proximity to Stellenbosch, Cape Town and other French farmers), the varietals planted and L'Avenir's reputation, its established track record. Laroche regards Chenin Blanc and Pinotage wines as especially interesting, believing that South Africa should concentrate on them as part of the country's heritage. "Don't market cheap, bad quality wine," is his admonishment.

Just a few kilometers down the R44, also on the Simonsberg, is where Christian Dauriac, owner of Château Dassault, established Marianne Estate where Mont Destin used to be. "He wasn't actually looking to buy a wine farm," Ridon recounted. "He was in South Africa to visit a yachting friend. He's also a good friend of Michel Rolland, who had got to know South Africa well through his work for Rupert & Rothschild and Remhoogte, next to Morgenhof."

Dauriac first visited Mont Destin in 2002 and bought it shortly thereafter from Ernie and Samantha Büergin, who moved onto a 10ha farm next door and retained the Mont Destin label. Today, 18ha of Marianne's 36ha is under vine - Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.

Two who decided to blaze their trails away from the Simonsberg are Alain Moueix and Jean-Phillipe Colmant - Moueix establishing Ingwe Wine Estate at the base of Sir Lowry's Pass outside Somerset West, with Colmant settling on Franschhoek for his bubbly outfit.

Moueix made his decision to buy where he did in 1997 using knowledge gained as a consultant to WineCorp. He was sold on the terroir of the 40ha property, the gently sloping property on the southern side of the Schaapenberg, facing False Bay, and he relishes the challenge of trying new things. "In South Africa there's still lots of possibility - room for new ideas. The potential of Bordeaux is largely known already. All that can be achieved is a slight improvement to an established pedigree."
Moueix's plantings at Ingwe include Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Syrah and Tempranillo. "For somebody from Bordeaux, this was good fun. We were able to start from scratch. In Bordeaux you can't decide to plant a little Shiraz just because you feel like it…"

Newcomer Jean-Phillipe Colmant ran a stone manufacturing business for 12 years before deciding on a change. He quips that his is the first French family to relocate to Franschhoek since the Huguenots some 300 years ago! Some of his reasons: "To attempt something new, and to create something we could enjoy doing now and that would benefit our children in years to come."

Colmant Cap Classique is a 5ha smallholding in Franschhoek, near Stony Brook and Boekenhoutskloof and part of the original La Motte farm granted to a French Huguenot in 1694. "We didn't really consider any other properties as this one was everything we wanted: small, free of any plantings, good soils and beautifully located. We planted our 3ha of Chardonnay in 2003, and the construction of our Cap Classique cellar was completed at the end of 2005, fully operational for our 2006 harvest.

"Our philosophy is to stay small and focussed," said Colmant. Small so that it will always stay manageable by ourselves and under our full ownership, allowing no compromises in quality. Focussed because we feel that bubbly requires more attention than any other wine."

And what of Ridon, who has called South Africa home since moving his wife and family here in 1996? "You can't beat the quality of life here. I'll admit that I looked at South America but was never really impressed by the quality of wines they produced. I worked in California but land was too expensive. Australia and New Zealand… the potential was good but it's so far away. And in New Zealand everything is so isolated - I couldn't subject my wife and family to that. South Africa has so much more - the grapes have something to express and the quality potential is amazing… Rather than get on a running train like Australia, I decided to get on one that was just boarding and about to pull out of the station."

All acknowledge that they're in it for the long haul. "It'll take years to realize our investment," Madame de Lencquesaing admits, "something I may never see - but it's worth it. I believe in the future of this country and I believe I can make a difference." And according to Cointreau, she "always wanted to invest in the local people as far as upliftment and job opportunities were concerned, focusing on literacy and health issues. Morgenhof provided me with that platform."

Cointreau commented that the country is small compared with other wine-producing nations, "but South Africa can stand on its own as a unique country with such diversity. This is true of its people as well as its soils. Our wines are very unique and individual. This is a big selling point that needs to be developed."

The final word from Madame de Lencquesaing as she stood on the edge of a 40m precipice overlooking the massive hole which will metamorphose into a gravity-fed 600 ton cellar within the next few months: "People ask me if we are going to have a French name. I say no: we want to use the name Glen Elly. I want to respect the country and respect Glen Elly. It's been here a long time - and so will we."

 

Contact details:

Colmant Cap Classique Colmant Farm, Franschhoek
Tel 021 876 4348, Fax 021 876 3732
www.colmant.co.za
2005 vintage of Colmant Cap Classique sparkling wine to be released in 2008

Glen Elly
Idas Valley Road, Stellenbosch
Tel 021 809 6440 (not yet in production or open to the public)

Ingwe
Sir Lowry's Pass Road, Helderberg
Tel/Fax: 021 858 1063
ingwewine@eject.co.za
Top rating: Amehlo 2002 - 4 Stars (December 2004)

L'Avenir
Klapmuts Road (R44), Simonsberg, Stellenbosch.
Tel 021 889 5001, Fax 021 889 5258
www.lavenir.co.za, lavenir@adept.co.za
Top ratings: Winner of Chenin Blanc Challenge 1998 - L'Avenir Chenin Blanc 1997; 4 Star ratings for Pinotage 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001.

Marianne
Valley Road, off R44, Stellenbosch.
Tel: 021 875 5040, Fax: 021 875 5036
www.mariannewinefarm.co.za, info@mariannewinefarm.co.za
Top rating: Shiraz 2004 - 4 Stars (August 2006)

Morgenhof
Klapmuts Road (R44), Simonsberg, Stellenbosch.
Tel 021 889 5510, Fax 021 889 5266
www.morgenhof.com, info@morgenhof.com
Top ratings: Winner of Chenin Blanc Challenge 1997 - Morgenhof Private Bin 210 Chenin Blanc 1996; 4 Star ratings for Premiére Sélection 1996, 1997 and 2001.

Signal Hill
23 Church Street, Cape Town.
Tel 021 461 9590, Fax 021 465 0342
www.winery.co.za, info@winery.co.za
Top ratings: Vin de L'Empereur 1998 - 4 Stars (December 1999); Vin de Glaciere NV - 4 Stars (June 2001); Crème de Tete Muscat d'Alexandrie 2000 - 4½ Stars (June 2004).