Muratie, Stellenbosch

It's not a name that immediately springs to mind when thinking of wine farms to visit. But to overlook Muratie would be a shame because it has a wonderfully colourful past and a good future ahead as its recent spate of good ratings indicate. Fiona McDonald reports.Muratie is not a glitzy wine farm - it's a down to earth place with turkeys and dogs wandering around. This Simonsberg farm is real and there's a tangible sense of family and of history.

The wine's good, too. Just recently their 2000 Shiraz has garnered a whole raft of top ratings: 4 stars in WINE magazine (September 2001), a 5 star rating in Platter's 2002 wine guide and then a gold medal at Veritas.

"We're very excited about it," said Charla Melck, general manager of Muratie. "We're all ecstatic, it's such great news for the farm.

"My brother Rijk was in Sardinia and we phoned him to tell him the news. They apparently celebrated so much they fell off the boat!"

Charla's office used to be her father's - the late great Ronnie Melck, former MD of Stellenbosch Farmers' Winery and a titan of the South African wine scene.

There's no purpose-built tasting venue here. The cellar is where visitors experience the range of wines. It's a bit uneven underfoot but as you walk in you notice paintings on the walls and the old barrels which have seen more than just one or two vintages.

"The thing about Muratie is the sense of family," she says.

Charla is not just referring to the farm returning to the Melck family fold after her father bought it in 1988, but to the involvement of the current generation in the hands-on running of the farm.

Annatjie takes over the tale:

"Ronnie and I promised years ago to stand by each other 'for better or worse'. We had a dream of building and creating a home where all friends could join us to enjoy a glass of wine, a plate of food, laughter and happiness. Above all to raise happy and sound children who have respect for all people and very much for the older generation - in other words, to belong to life.

"When the terrible sadness of Ronnie's death occurred, these same children rallied around me in an amazing way. Even though I was involved in the wine business my whole life, I knew nothing about being a wine farmer. Rijk has a natural sense for winemaking and also a scientific knowledge. He therefore moved into the vineyard and winemaking situation with ease and determination to learn - and to make the wines that Ronnie would have been proud of.

"Anton, the lawyer, took over the administration and financial control."

Annalisa, a medical doctor like Rijk, married Christoph Mack, a wine merchant in Germany. Youngest daughter Charla worked with Christoph for a number of years, gaining experience in all facets of the wine trade.

"When Charla came back to South Africa it was first prize for us. She has taken a tremendous responsibility off the shoulders of Anton and Rijk who found it hard to handle Muratie along with their professional responsibilities."
Consultants have played a large role in the recent turnaround of Muratie. On the winemaking side is Mark Carmichael-Green who is helped by Duan Brits, while viticultural consultant Paul Wallace ensures the right vines are planted in the best locations. Both Mark and Paul worked with Ronnie during their years at SFW.

A combined effort between family and consultants has seen the range grow from Ansela, a Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend, Pinot Noir, Isabella (Chardonnay), Amber (dessert wine) and Port, to include the varietal Shiraz which has done so well and a Merlot.

Forefather of the Melck family was Martin Melck, a remarkable man who arrived on South African soil in the mid-18th century. His is one of the greatest success stories as he went from being a humble soldier in the Cape to one of its greatest landowners in the space of 17 years.

Melck owned De Driesprong and 't Kleygat which today comprises Uitkyk, Delheim, Knorhoek, Nieuwe Tuin and Elsenburg. Muratie was in the Melck family for approximately 90 years before passing into other hands.

Not that the Melcks were the first owners. The property Muratie was originally granted by Willem Adriaan van der Stel to Prussian émigré Lourens Campher: "een zeker stuk land genaamd De Driesprong gelegen onder de Stellenbosch". The deed was signed in February 1699 - so Campher was one of the first freehold farmers in the Cape.

He and his wife, a former slave known as "Ansela van der Caab," planted vines on the farm and their contribution is recognised in the label on Muratie's red blend, Ansela.

What's in a name?
Muratie is a corruption of the Dutch word "murasie" or ruin - an indication of the disrepair and ill fortune which had befallen the property by the time the flamboyant George Canitz bought it in the 1920s.

The German-born aristocrat and artist and his eldest daughter, Annemie restored both the homestead and farm.

"As a Stellenbosch University student Ronnie first came across Muratie and its colourful owner, George Paul Canitz, when he had to buy wine for his koshuis dance," Annatjie recalls.
"He fell in love with the place and dreamed of owning it one day. All through his first years as a wine buyer and later in the wine trade, he kept contact with Annemie - he visited her, he advised her and so he courted her until, at the age of 89, she sold the farm to him because 'he had no money and therefore would have to keep it like Daddy had, and would not be able to mess it up!'"

Annatjie recalls that Annemie worshipped her father. And she was probably the Cape's first female winemaker after inheriting the property in 1959 when her father died.

"In the days before cars, she apparently used to load up a horse and cart with wine and drive it to the docks herself," said Charla.

Charla also tells the apocryphal tale of her office, the former studio, apparently being built around a Persian carpet.

"The story goes that a friend of Canitz shipped out a grand piano - and to protect it during the voyage wrapped it in a Persian carpet. By the time it made it to Muratie the carpet was ripped and torn but the piano was OK. So this building was constructed around the dimensions of the carpet!"

One of Canitz's associates was Prof Abraham Perold, the "father" of Pinotage - some of the first plantings of this uniquely South African grape were on Muratie. The first Pinot Noir was also planted here and until the mid-'70s theirs was the only locally made one available in South Africa.

Digressing somewhat, Charla says: "The best thing with our Pinot Noir is pigeon. My mom cooks them every year. It's a magnificent combination."

And as the farm grew in prominence and stature, so did Canitz's reputation for hosting wonderful parties.

"Canitz used to call this studio the Chapel. Apparently his Stellenbosch friends used to dutifully say they were off to Chapel and visit Muratie for a high time!" Charla recounts.

As mentioned, Annemie sold the property to Ronnie in 1988, three years before her death. Unfortunately the farm's fortunes had again been reversed and it needed a lot of work.

"One of the conditions of sale was that we keep the farm as it was," said Charla.

"As Stellenbosch students we all knew of Muratie, particularly its port, but we used to visit Annemie from time to time.

"She was a wonderful woman - even in her 80s. We would often visit her in the afternoon and would always have a glass of Amber together."

And thereby hangs another tale: Amber, a sweet Muscat-based dessert wine was made by Canitz the same year the book Forever Amber was published - hence the name.

A poignant chapter was added to the family history when patriarch Ronnie died in 1995 after a long illness. Just 10 days before his death Muratie was awarded the Jan Smuts Trophy for the best wine at the national young wine show - the 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon, something that brought him great joy.

"When my dad died he left us with great dreams. And it's taken us a couple of years to realise them."

Replanting and renovating is what the family have subsequently done - and it is only now they are reaping the rewards.
"He fell in love with the place and dreamed of owning it one day. All through his first years as a wine buyer and later in the wine trade, he kept contact with Annemie - he visited her, he advised her and so he courted her until, at the age of 89, she sold the farm to him because 'he had no money and therefore would have to keep it like Daddy had, and would not be able to mess it up!'"

Annatjie recalls that Annemie worshipped her father. And she was probably the Cape's first female winemaker after inheriting the property in 1959 when her father died.

"In the days before cars, she apparently used to load up a horse and cart with wine and drive it to the docks herself," said Charla.

Charla also tells the apocryphal tale of her office, the former studio, apparently being built around a Persian carpet.

"The story goes that a friend of Canitz shipped out a grand piano - and to protect it during the voyage wrapped it in a Persian carpet. By the time it made it to Muratie the carpet was ripped and torn but the piano was OK. So this building was constructed around the dimensions of the carpet!"

One of Canitz's associates was Prof Abraham Perold, the "father" of Pinotage - some of the first plantings of this uniquely South African grape were on Muratie. The first Pinot Noir was also planted here and until the mid-'70s theirs was the only locally made one available in South Africa.

Digressing somewhat, Charla says: "The best thing with our Pinot Noir is pigeon. My mom cooks them every year. It's a magnificent combination."

And as the farm grew in prominence and stature, so did Canitz's reputation for hosting wonderful parties.

"Canitz used to call this studio the Chapel. Apparently his Stellenbosch friends used to dutifully say they were off to Chapel and visit Muratie for a high time!" Charla recounts.

As mentioned, Annemie sold the property to Ronnie in 1988, three years before her death. Unfortunately the farm's fortunes had again been reversed and it needed a lot of work.

"One of the conditions of sale was that we keep the farm as it was," said Charla.

"As Stellenbosch students we all knew of Muratie, particularly its port, but we used to visit Annemie from time to time.

"She was a wonderful woman - even in her 80s. We would often visit her in the afternoon and would always have a glass of Amber together."

And thereby hangs another tale: Amber, a sweet Muscat-based dessert wine was made by Canitz the same year the book Forever Amber was published - hence the name.

A poignant chapter was added to the family history when patriarch Ronnie died in 1995 after a long illness. Just 10 days before his death Muratie was awarded the Jan Smuts Trophy for the best wine at the national young wine show - the 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon, something that brought him great joy.

"When my dad died he left us with great dreams. And it's taken us a couple of years to realise them."

Replanting and renovating is what the family have subsequently done - and it is only now they are reaping the rewards.