HISTORY

The first settlers to cultivate the virgin land of the estate today known as Hartenberg were in 1692, when friends Cunraad Boin and Christoffel Esterhuizzen were granted permission to work the 60 morgen of the farm.

Even at this early stage the wine-bearing potential of the soil was recognized and one of the first tasks that the two partners undertook was the clearing of the land to plant 2 000 vines.

In 1704, Christoffel Esterhuizzen was granted the title deed to "Het Hartenberg" by the Governer (Willem Adriaan van der Stel) and became the first official owner of the farm. By 1718, he had 10 000 vines on his property and produced four leggers of wine.

The well-known elephant hunter, Paulus Keyser, bought Hartenberg in 1721 and continued the practise of wine cultivation and wine-making on the farm until he sold it to Jacob van Bochen in 1725.

Paulus Keiser (who owned Hartenberg in the 1720's) was a former soldier and renowned elephant hunter.

Van Bochen, a former accountant of the Dutch East India Company butchery and holder of the liquor retail monopoly, also bought Weltevrede the following year, thus servicing the two properties.

Since then, the two farms have remained a combined property, forming the Hartenberg estate as we know it today.

After Van Bochen, and for about a hundred years, the farm passed through the hands of various owners, some of them with colourful names like Arrie Lekkerwyn, and Aaron van Ceylon (a freed slave) and in 1838 it became the property of the brothers Jacobus and Johannes Bosman.

Like the previous owners, the Bosmans grew grain and grazed cattle on the long gentle slopes of Hartenberg with wine grown only for domestic use. It was Johannes who, after buying his brother's share in the farm, built the existing manor house in 1849.

Uncompromising and sophisticated, Eleanor Finlayson's presence is still felt on Hartenberg today.

An important period in the farm's development was ushered in by the Hampf family when they bought Hartenberg in 1928. Mrs Hampf extended the vineyards and planted the many beautiful trees still to be seen around the farm and cellar, while her husband became the first officially recorded winemaker on the estate.

In 1948, Hartenberg was bought by the late Dr Maurice Finlayson (a well-known Cape Town pathologist) and his wife, Eleanor. Discovering the true potential of the estate, they soon began marketing their wines under the label "Montagne". Besides good wine, the Finlaysons also produced two sons, Peter and Walter, who were to become renowned South African winemakers in their own right.

Gilbeys were the next owners of the estate, purchasing it from the Finlaysons in 1977. They eventually released the present Hartenberg range as their flagship in 1985.

Then came the Mackenzies.

On 1 January 1987, Bermuda-based businessman, Ken Mackenzie, purchased Hartenberg, having seen the potential that the perennial under-achiever offered. At a time of great political instability and much disinvestment in South Africa, his move was brave, to say the least.

To this day, long after Ken's death, his daughters continue a programme of investment in the farm, focusing on three key areas: the replanting to specific sites of some 55 hectares of premium varietals, the development of production facilities, and the upliftment of knowledge and skills for labour and management.

The Mackenzie vision, though extremely ambitious, remains simple: to do whatever it takes to produce wines of outstanding quality by anybody's standards. To create only what wino's call "the good stuff".

TRADING HOURS

MON-SUN
From 1 Dec - Easter 2012

MON-FRI
09h00-17h15

SAT & PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
09h00-15h00

SUN (DEC & EASTER)
10h00-15h30

LUNCH
12h00 - 14h00

CELLAR TOURS
By appointment only

CLOSED
Christmas Day
New Year's Day
Good Friday

RESERVATIONS
021 - 865 2541
cellardoor
@hartenbergestate.com

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