The Indwe Estate
At the southern-most tip of Africa, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, one finds the ‘Cape of Storms’, or more commonly, Cape Agulhas. On this peninsula lies the Elim ward and Overberg region, where we source the grapes for Indwe Sauvignon Blanc. Indwe is the Xhosa name for the Blue Crane, South Africa’s national bird. It is an endangered species and endemic to South Africa, particularly the Overberg region. The Blue Crane is very special to the amaXhosa and amaZulu, often associated with warriors and royalty.
Owner and Winemaker is Trizanne Barnard. During her productive vinous career, she has seized every possible opportunity to broaden her knowledge and experience, pressing them for every drop of goodness they offered, enriching her life, her work and her wine. With a B.Sc Agric under her belt she stepped into the real world of wine, completing harvests in Western Australia, Alsace, Bordeaux, Rhone and Douro Valley.
Back on home soil, after a year at Klein Constantia she was challenged with setting up a winery in the Helderberg. After four successful years,she decided it was time to venture on my own, creating her own project.
The Indwe Estate
At the southern-most tip of Africa, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, one finds the ‘Cape of Storms’, or more commonly, Cape Agulhas. On this peninsula lies the Elim ward and Overberg region, where we source the grapes for Indwe Sauvignon Blanc. Indwe is the Xhosa name for the Blue Crane, South Africa’s national bird. It is an endangered species and endemic to South Africa, particularly the Overberg region. The Blue Crane is very special to the amaXhosa and amaZulu, often associated with warriors and royalty.
Owner and Winemaker is Trizanne Barnard. During her productive vinous career, she has seized every possible opportunity to broaden her knowledge and experience, pressing them for every drop of goodness they offered, enriching her life, her work and her wine. With a B.Sc Agric under her belt she stepped into the real world of wine, completing harvests in Western Australia, Alsace, Bordeaux, Rhone and Douro Valley.
Back on home soil, after a year at Klein Constantia she was challenged with setting up a winery in the Helderberg. After four successful years,she decided it was time to venture on my own, creating her own project.
The Vineyards
The historic mission settlement of Elim on the Agulhas Plain comprises 6 500 hectares of land.  Half of this land is under agriculture and for the past one hundred years has been cultivated and the remaining + 3 000 hectares of Elim ferricrete fynbos is managed by the Moravian Church and the community at the Elim mission station.
Elim was established in 1824 by Moravian missionaries and sacramental wine was required for church services, and the first vineyard planting in this region subsequently occurred over 100 years ago however viticulture didn’t really establish until 1997 when it resumed again.
First Vineyard plantings: 1996 – Lands End. After Lands End, The Berrio planted the next vineyards in 1997.
Producers in Elim:
Total hectares of vineyards 129.16 Ha = 319.161 Acres
White grape varietals found on Elim: approximately 80% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Semillon and the rest is small parcels of Viognier, Nouvelle.
Indwe Pinotage Coastal Region is made from 100 percent Pinotage.
Pinotage is a true South African grape variety, Our signature grape smilar to the Blue Crane being our national bird. Indwe Pinotage grapes are meticulously sourced from our grape producers along the Coastal region of the Western Cape ensuring complexity, depth and purity of fruit. The wine is layered with sweet cherry notes, and subtle hints of mocha and vanilla flavors.
Chavy-Chouet Bourgogne Blanc Femelottes is made form 100 percent Chardonnay.
This is a charming, rich, focused and delightful white. Medium-bodied with a smooth texture, the wine has a fresh backbone of acidity, clean apple and citrus flavors, and an excellent balance. A most refreshing quaff and one that is great value. A delicate, expressive wine of exceptional quality.
The grapes from this wine are grown from the Puligny-Montrachet area. (either outside of the AOC limit or with younger vines).
The grapes from this wine are grown from the Puligny-Montrachet area. (either outside of the AOC limit or with younger vines).
Aged 10 months in oak barrels (10% new, the rest in 2-3 year old barrels).
Deep red with a slight purple hue on release. The wine has a rich mix of dark chocolate infused with coffee bean and black liquorice, then scents of tar, aniseed, raw (pure) soy and black olive on the nose. The palate is expansive, and yet balanced and finessed. An amalgam of dark berried flavors and textural sensations. The 100% new oak is completely absorbed, meshed with ripe tannins, completing a palate of impressive length and youthfulness.
Slowly the tide turned, Australians began drinking more wine and Dad with his uncanny ability to select and plant Clifton Park with the grape varieties of the future, saw fortunes change for Clifton Park and the Thorn family. I loved my Dad's wry sense of humor and his work ethic was an inspiration to us all.
"My father, Ron, was born in 1923 at the Angaston Hospital not far from where the Thorn-Clarke Winery is currently located. He was the fourth born of the nine children my grandparents raised at Clifton Park in the Eden Valley Ranges. Dad's great-grandparents took up farming land in the Barossa in the 1840's and purchased Clifton Park, where Dad grew up, in the 1870's. To this day, Clifton Park remains in the Thorn family and the 1870's vineyard still produces quality fruit.
As the family grew, Dad showed tenacity and judgment by pulling out orchards and extending the family vineyards. During the 1950's, 60's, and 70's, times were testing for a family business based on dry land horticulture and mixed farming. Dad's strong work ethic proved an invaluable asset during the tough years on the farm and he traveled widely as a shearer, drove bulldozers and worked at the local cement works to support his family.
Ron Thorn Shiraz is made from the best fruit that we grow and is produced only in exceptional years. This wine is given the benefit of 20 months barrel maturation and 12 months in bottle prior to release. This is our tribute to Dad's life and his contribution to the Thorn-Clarke story." - Cheryl Thorn Clarke
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