Naming their
iconic wines and winter dishes after the extraordinary characters
from the
estate’s colourful past
At Muratie, the passion for preserving the estate’s
rich heritage and the intriguing human stories woven into the very fabric of its
centuries old history, are captured in every nook and cranny of this family
farm, where the
unique old-world ambience is almost tangible.
A visit to Muratie today, still guarded
over by ancient oak trees, reveals a piece of history where time has largely
stood still. The original open fermenters and winemaking implements in the werf that greet you on arrival; the
rickety cob-webbed tasting room with stained glass windows; the renovated
original old fermentation tanks, with their tartaric encrusted walls, where lunches
and functions are held; the antique carpets and furniture; and original art;
all adorn a unique and magical environment where you can still enjoy good wine,
honest farm food, and great hospitality.
Even the wines reflect a tangible sense of time
suspended. The Melck family has honoured the estate’s
fascinating history by naming all Muratie’s Iconic Wines after extraordinary
characters from the farm’s colourful past, each with its own enchanting story
described on the back label. And there are a myriad stories reaching as far
back as the 17th century, making Muratie one of the oldest wineries
in the Cape Winelands. “Each of our wines has its
own personality,” says co-owner Rijk Melck. “Our red cuvée is named Ansela van
der Caab, while our white cuvée is the Laurens Campher. George Paul Canitz, of
course, is the name of our Pinot Noir, and our Merlot is named after Canitz’s
daughter, Alberta Annemarie, affectionately known as Annemie. The Shiraz is
named after my father, Ronnie Melck, our Chardonnay after his granddaughter,
and my daughter, Isabella, our MCC after high society hostess, Lady Alice, who
bought Muratie in 1909, and our Cape Vintage after legendary barefoot winemaker
Ben Prins.”
MURATIE’S ICONIC WINES
Muratie Ansela van de Caab 2009
This cabernet sauvignon-led Bordeaux-style blend
honours Ansela, whose remarkable story is written into South African folklore
as an icon of the struggle against the horrors of slavery at the Cape in the
late 17th century.
The Muratie Ansela van de Caab 2009 retails nationally for
approximately R175.
Muratie Laurens Campher
2012
This unique blended white wine pays tribute to the
first owner of Muratie, the passionate and determined young German soldier who
fell in love with a slave-girl at the Castle in Cape Town. During their 14 year
courtship, Laurens frequently walked the 64 kilometres to Cape Town and back, a
three day trip, to see his beloved Ansela. When she was eventually emancipated, Ansela returned as Laurens’ wife to
Muratie. The oak tree she planted to bless their marriage
still stands on Muratie, as does a small white house, their first home, built
for them by Laurens.
The wine is a blend of chenin blanc, verdelho, viognier
and sauvignon blanc with intense flavours ranging from honeysuckle to
pineapple, and a sturdy backbone redolent of the
eponymous Laurens Campher. All the
cultivars except the sauvignon blanc were barrel fermented. The wine was
matured in barrel for six months.
The Muratie Laurens Campher 2012 retails nationally
for approximately R95.
Muratie George Paul Canitz Pinot Noir 2010
This wine honours the former owner of Muratie who had two great passions in life: painting and pinot
noir. Painting into his 70’s he earned fame both locally and internationally.
But as the first ever pinot noir grower in the country, it was his palate for
pinot which earned him the greatest renown.
With hints of strawberries, fresh cherries and
French Oak and a delicate long finish, the George Paul Canitz Pinot Noir salutes
the artist ... and his palate for pinot.
The Muratie George Paul Canitz Pinot Noir 2010
retails nationally for approximately R165.
Muratie Alberta Annemarie
Merlot 2009
Previously called Muratie Merlot, this wine pays
tribute to Alberta Annemarie, daughter of GP Canitz: a remarkable woman who,
upon her father’s death, became one of the first female wine farm owners in the
country, and who, like fine wine, only improved with age.
This wine displays a dense purple colour with
cherry, cranberry and a hint of chocolate on the nose followed by blackcurrants
and dark chocolate on the palate. It is a full bodied wine, yet subtle, with
well integrated oak giving it a lasting finish.
The Muratie Alberta Annemarie Merlot 2009 retails nationally for
approximately R95.
Isabella Chardonnay 2011
Named after the
beautiful Isabella Melck, this Burgundian style Chardonnay displays elegant
notes of citrus and a lingering mineral finish. With perfectly integrated wood
and a juicy fruit centre, this wine appeals to both wooded and unwooded
chardonnay drinkers.
The Muratie Isabella
Chardonnay 2011 retails nationally for approximately R95.
Muratie Ronnie Melck Shiraz 2009
This wine, previously called Muratie Shiraz, was renamed to honour
family patriarch and legendary winemaker, Ronnie Melck, who loved Shiraz. An
intensely red wine with a violet edge, it offers rich floral and berry notes
with hints of green peppercorns and gamey nuances, supported by a sweet
spiciness with a vanilla, crème brûlée aftertaste.
The Muratie Ronnie Melck Shiraz 2009 retails
nationally for approximately R100.
Muratie Lady Alice Méthode Cap Classique 2010
Muratie’s Cap Classique honours Lady Alice Sarah Stanford, society
lady of note who turned every event into a dance party, who was married to a
senator and bought Muratie in 1909. With its lovely acidic backbone and a long,
smooth finish underlined with fuller biscuit flavours from the lees contact and
malolactic fermentation, this classic blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay toasts
this lady of pleasure.
Muratie Lady Alice Méthode Cap Classique 2010 retails nationally for
approximately R120.
Muratie Ben Prins Cape Vintage 2009
Muratie’s Cape Vintage is produced from a vineyard
planted way back in 1965. The varietals (Tinta Barocca, Tinta Roritz, Tinta
Francesca and Souzao) are all planted in the same block. This block is
harvested at once so this “field blend” is unique to the Muratie Cape Vintage.
Matured in old 225 litre French Oak barrels for a minimum of two years,
this world-class liqueur wine pays homage to Muratie’s legendary winemaker, Barefoot
Ben.
Muratie Ben Prins Cape Vintage 2009 retails nationally for
approximately R170.
MURATIE FARM
KITCHEN
Following
suit, Muratie’s Farm Kitchen’s menu also pays tribute to some of these intriguing
personalities. Rijk’s wife Kim, and Leentjie Leask who recently qualified from
the Institute of Culinary Arts (ICA), oversee the preparation of this honest
farm lunch, using fresh ingredients from Muratie’s organic vegetable garden and
specialty foods from highly esteemed local suppliers like Dalewood Fromage and
Wild Peacock Food Emporium.
WINTER MENU
Soup of the day (R45)
Suggested wine – Isabella Chardonnay
Wholesome homemade soup. Made to help endure the cold winter days.
Served with fresh farm baked bread.
George Paul Canitz Venison Carpaccio (R65)
Suggested wine – George Paul Canitz Pinot Noir / Ronnie Melck Shiraz
George Paul, passionate artist and pinot noir
pioneer, had a definite flair for blending a rich combination of colours, as
does this platter which brings together a palette of flavours, comprising
venison carpaccio, fresh rocket and homemade organic red onion marinade topped
with Parmesan shavings.
Alberta Annemarie
Offal (R95)
Suggested
wine- Alberta
Annemarie Merlot
One of
Muratie’s signature dishes, this traditional meal, served with farm baked bread
and salad, pays tribute to the feisty lady, daughter
of GP Canitz, who owned and ruled Muratie from 1958 until 1987.
Laurens Campher Lamb Shank (R130)
Suggested wine – Ronnie Melck Shiraz/Ansela van de Caab
Organic slow roasted Karoo lamb shank with rosemary, served with
creamed potatoes, caramelised carrots and baby peas, this dish pays tribute to
Muratie’s first owner.
Ansela van de Caab Platter (R115)
Suggested wine – Laurens Campher
The much spoken about love affair between Muratie’s
first owner, Laurens Campher, and his slave-girl sweetheart, Ansela van de
Caab, is captured in this robust platter of flirtatious taste and local
favourites, including assorted cheeses, fresh farm bread, an array of cold meats,
dips, preserves and koeksisters.
And there is always
a Chef’s Special of the Day
A VISIT TO MURATIE
Wherever you are on the estate you cannot help
being moved by a sense of the many generations who have lived and worked there.
The buildings, the artefacts and even the shrubs and trees exude an aura of the
colourful past reaching towards an even more fruitful future.
So take time out to explore this magical
environment and take heed of the words of George Paul Canitz: "It's the
smooth bouquet that counts - drink Muratie wines made from the finest grapes,
ripened in the South African sun. Every drop in your glass is full of flavour
and strength; it gladdens the heart and loosens the tongue. It is the strength
of a pure wine that enables you to face care and trouble with a lighter heart
and so quickly dissipate that feeling of depression. In this manner it
incidentally fortifies the body against infections and disease.”
The many and varied attractions at Muratie include:
·
Wine tasting daily between 10am and 5pm in Muratie’s rickety cob-webbed
old-world tasting room;
·
The Melck family’s home-made preserves and treats for sale
at the tasting room, which include nougat made from their own free range eggs, honey from the hives in the blue
gum grove on the hill above the tasting room, home baked rusks, and green fig
preserves and apricot jam, made by Rijk’s mother Annatjie and his wife Kim,
from fruit grown on the farm;
·
The Farm Kitchen restaurant;
·
Winery and history tours by appointment;
·
GP Canitz Art Gallery in the refurbished historic concrete
tanks in the cellar;
·
Self-catering accommodation in GP Canitz’s original art
studio which
he built with bricks made on the farm;
·
Functions hosted in the cellar inside old
tartaric acid-encrusted Burgundian open fermenters which have been renovated
and opened up for guest entertainment;
·
Private tastings in the Kneipzimmer, GP Canitz’s drinking
den;
·
Regular music concerts and art exhibitions.
Tel: 021 865 2330 · Email: info@muratie.co.za · Website: www.muratie.co.za
Custodians of Muratie Wine Estate
The rich history of Muratie revolves around four great eras which
have been integral to the development of this historic estate:
·
Laurens Campher and Ansela
van de Caab (1685 – 1735), where it all began.
·
Martin Melck, one of the
Cape’s great landowners and farmers, and the Melck/Beyers line (1763 – 1897) -
additional information below.
·
George Paul Canitz and his
daughter Annemie (1925 until 1987). George Paul Canitz, the famous artist whose
paintings still adorn the walls at Muratie, made the first pinot noir at the
Cape after planting this famous Burgundian grape in 1927. He farmed Muratie
with his daughter, who took over from him when he died in 1958.
·
Ronnie Melck and the Melck Family Trust
(1987 until the present day). Today the farm is managed full-time by Ronnie’s son,
Rijk, who is aided by his brother, Anton, his sister Charla, and their mother
Annatjie.
Rijk
Melck, a medical doctor, humbly refers to himself as ‘the present custodian’ of
Muratie. Matriarch Annatjie Melck, ‘chief of
aesthetics at Muratie’, lives in the Muratie Manor House. Born in the Karoo and
owner of Oom Samie se Winkel in Stellenbosch, Annatjie, a highly accomplished
cook, will be publishing her own cookbook next year. Rijk and Kim and their two
daughters, Isabella and Catherine, also live on the farm. Muratie will no doubt remain in family hands, because the youngest
generation has already been infected by the love and passion for wine and the
land.
Muratie Winemaking team
The winemaking team
is made up of Rijk Melck, Francois Conradie (winemaker and farm manager) and
Riaan Krediet (assistant winemaker), who has been part of Muratie’s very
successful social upliftment programme.
