25
years
ago
What is now Kleinood, was originally called Chatford farm. We decided to give it a name that we could relate to and would remind us every day of what this land is and how we should care for it.
Kleinood, a word from Dutch and German descent and absorbed into Afrikaans, can be translated to English as “something small and precious”.
In 2014, we released the very first
Kleinood Tamboerskloof John Spicer Syrah
– it was the 2009 vintage.
“The John Spicer Syrah was named after our first-born child and only son. His paternal grandfather was John de Villiers while Spicer goes back further to a great uncle Henry Spicer Daniels.”
The artwork for the wrapping of the first John Spicer Syrah (2009) was created by the renowned artist, Beezy Bailey, on the farm during May 2014. The highly respected artist, Jill Trappler created the second wrapping.
With the launch of this wine, the packaging was chosen as the winner of all categories at the Harpers Wine and Spirits Packaging competition.
“… it says everything about the anti-brand. It does something different. You want to grab it and undress it and see what is inside. It is a gift with some real subtlety that goes with it. It is unique and simple…”
Over the years it has given us much joy to commission a different young South African artist for every vintage – Stephané E. Conradie, Katharien de Villiers, Jeanne Gaigher, Marlene Steyn, Amy Rusch and for this year’s release, Anna van der Ploeg.
2018 Vintage Artwork by Anna van der Ploeg
This month we are launching
our 9th edition of
The Kleinood Tamboerskloof John Spicer Syrah.
This vintage, too, comes from the best vineyard block on the farm.
Due to our viticultural philosophy and practice of dividing the farm into tiny vineyard blocks we were able to confirm that block 7 was in a league of its own and gave us our top Syrah year after year. We eventually identified a portion of the half-hectare block – a small corner on Kleinood where the wind, rain, sun and soil are in total harmony and fulfil all the needs of this specific Syrah clone – where the elusive grapes stood. It is not only a special addition to the Kleinood Tamboerskloof stable of wines, but also underwrites our philosophy that the best wines are made in the vineyard.
Thus the John Spicer Syrah was born as the ultimate expression of our terroir
– a truly handcrafted wine, in every sense of the word.
“This is about a small precious place. About the sense of lightness when walking on the farm. The rocks, sunlight, water. The full dark grapes hanging from the vines. The light pulp under the skins – deep darks contrasting with magical hovering light. Tasting the wine – the texture, the play of light and colour. And the joy of it. It is, after all a coming together of produce and people – festivity and celebration.”
Listen To The Kleinood Nocturne
Born from a very natural collaboration between wine, art and music,
this song will take you on a breathtaking audio journey,
from sunset to sunrise, on Kleinood farm,
over a glass of Tamboerskloof John Spicer Syrah.
With love,
Kleinood
