Kleinood Classics
Tamboerskloof (pierewaaiers)
Small Batch Wines
v. (meevaller) Kleinood Tamboerskloof Mourvèdre
vi. (rantsoen) Kleinood Tamboerskloof Roussanne Viognier
vii. (buurman) Kleinood Tamboerskloof Chenin Blanc
viii. (inkommer) Kleinood Tamboerskloof Grenache Blanc
ix. (overgesetsynde) Tamboerskloof Whole-Bunch Syrah
Kleinood
Tamboerskloof
Wines
Winemaking is alchemy. It is wind, rain, sun, and soil mysteriously absorbed by the vine to produce juice filled berries that we, through the fine balance between magic and science, gently coax, to become a thing of beauty in every sense of the word.
i.
Kleinood Tamboerskloof ‘Katharien’ Syrah Rosé
“A serious wine, made in a form too often treated frivolously — and all the more singular for it.”
After each harvest, our beloved Kleinood Tamboerskloof ‘Katharien’ Syrah Rosé is the first wine to leave the Kleinood winery. But, don’t be fooled: to make this rosey wine is a very involved process. This Syrah Rosé is a dedicated, farm-planned wine rather than a secondary product. It takes years of precision viticulture, followed by an arduous hands-on harvest. Then follows months of careful coaxing in our winery. Throughout, the inherent character of the Syrah variety takes precedence.
Just like its namesake, the ‘Katharien’ Syrah Rosé has grown up: from a blushing, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed debutant to a celebration of terroir, cultivar and elegance. This Rosé is no summer trifle. Complex enough to reward attention and structured enough to stand beside considered food, it belongs as readily to a balmy afternoon as a cool evening.
The small neck tag distinguishes our Syrah Rosé from the other Tamboerskloof wines. The image is that of a sculpture of Katharien when she was a little girl, made by her maternal grandmother. The original sculpture is cast in bronze with a linen dress, and sits proudly on the mantel in the manor house of Kleinood Farm.
Current Vintage: 2025
100% Syrah Rosé
ii.
Kleinood Tamboerskloof Viognier
Kleinood Farm has a maximum-hands-per-bottle philosophy.
Before planting any vines on Kleinood Farm, extensive soil tests were conducted, which indicated that our terroir is best suited to Northern Rhône cultivars, including Viognier, which is often planted only for blending purposes.
However, as the vines matured, we realised that our Viognier could stand alone…
The culmination of our deliberate viticultural and oenological approach is a wine that redefines the parameters of serious dry Viognier.
The distinctive, yet characteristically understated, Tamboerskloof wine labels are hand printed with an antique wooden press on handmade paper that is torn to size by hand and stuck onto each individual bottle by hand.
Current Vintage: 2026
100% Viognier
iii.
Kleinood Tamboerskloof Syrah
Our wines do not reflect what we have done to it, but express the complexity of their origin.
Kleinood Estate Flagship
Kleinood is a small family farm with just ten hectares are devoted to vines. The terroir dictated Syrah as the variety of choice, with a hectare each of Viognier, Rousanne and Mouvèrdre, initially for blending purposes, to further underpin the vision and desire to make the best Northern Rhône style Syrah the farm could produce.
Each of the 23 half-hectare vineyard blocks on the farm is managed as a separate unit. The grapes from each unit are looked after, irrigated, harvested, crushed, fermented and matured in wood separately. Only at blending time do we decide which wine is good enough, with the final blend comprising all the different components which form the building blocks for the Tamboerskloof Syrah.
The distinctive, yet characteristically understated, Tamboerskloof wine labels are hand printed with an antique wooden press on handmade paper that is torn to size by hand and stuck onto each individual bottle by hand.
Current Vintage: 2021
98.9% Syrah
1.1% Mourvèdre
The beauty of the colours, smells, tastes, aromas and textures. The machinery and human hands that work together to create something new. The intense joy with every successful wine and vintage.
iv.
Kleinood Tamboerskloof ‘John Spicer’ Syrah
listen while you read
The Kleinood Nocturne
The Kleinood Nocturne was born from a very natural collaboration between wine, art and music. Created by the acclaimed jazz pianist Kyle Shepherd in collaboration with sound artist Rob Brinkworth, The Kleinood Nocturne will take you on a breathtaking audio journey, from sunset to sunrise, on Kleinood, over a glass of Tamboerskloof John Spicer Syrah.
Block 7
The reason for making our ‘John Spicer’ Syrah is based purely on the outstanding and unique character of the wine produced by a specific vineyard block year after year – wishing to keep it apart as the ultimate expression of our terroir, supporting our philosophy that great wines are made in the vineyard.
A combination of state of the art winery technology and traditional wine making techniques take care of designing this unique, handcrafted wine.
Current vintage: 2018
The grapes from a select portion of a single vineyard block on Kleinood Farm (Block 7) were hand picked, at exactly the right time, on 13 March 2018. Shortly after, at arrival in the winery, they were sorted by hand three times before being transported, via gravity, into stainless steel fermenters where they spent 14 days at 26.50 degrees celsius. Then, eighteen months in 300 litre French oak barrels: 15% first, 35% second and 50% third fill. Bottled on 4 February 2020.
The violet ruby colour gives a good indication as to what could be expected…
The delightful nose presents intense dark fruit, with cherry and blackcurrant perfumes, followed by charming violets and spice.
On the palate the velvety entry is followed by the freshness and elegance associated with Kleinood. This complex wine confidently expresses the integrated French oak, with notes of tobacco and fresh leather. The power on the mid-palate unashamedly claims Stellenbosch as provenance.
A marvellously persistent finish, ensures the drinking of this wine to be a memorable experience now and for many years to come.
The ‘John Spicer’ Syrah is named after our first-born child and only son. His names, as Katharien’s, are family names.
A truly handcrafted wine in every sense of the word.
For the sake of distinction, our ‘John Spicer’ Syrah is adorned with a black label. However, it is still printed on recycled, hand made paper, hand torn and hand pasted on Kleinood Farm.
For each new vintage we commission a South African artist to create an original artwork inspired by Kleinood Farm, which is printed on un-bleached, recycled stone-paper, and wrapped around each individual bottle of ‘John Spicer’ Syrah by hand.
With fascination we share in their various perspectives and experiences of the same small farm. In much the same way, we find different vintages producing nuanced wine from the same soil incredibly interesting…
Beezy Baily, Jill Trappler, Marlene Steyn, Katharien de Villiers, Stephané Conradie, Jeanne Gaigher and Amy Rusch have participated in this project since the first vintage.
The artwork for the 2018 vintage was created by Anna van der Ploeg. For this work the artist created a woodcut portrayal of integrated Western Cape landscapes.
The full collection of original artworks can be seen in the tasting room on Kleinood Farm.
Tamboerskloof (pierewaaiers)
die pierewaaiers = the dandies
This is a collection of rare Tamboerskloof wines inspired by the exceptional grapes that cross our path.
All the dandies are made in the Kleinood winery in the Kleinood way, but only occasionally, when the grapes insist, and in very small quantities.
Before release, each bottle is labelled by hand and each cork sealed with wax. Each bottle is nattily dressed in a recycled paper bag and tied at the top with a thinly cut repurposed tyre tube – pretty dandy.
The charm of these wines lies in the quality of the grapes, the care of the hands that create them, and the soul of the places that they come from.
v.
(meevaller)
Kleinood Tamboerskloof Mourvèdre
meevaller = money from home, a windfall
Past Vintages: 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023
Current Vintage: 2025
From the small patch of Mourvèdre vines on Kleinood Farm, the Tamboerskloof Syrah takes its share. It is a fickle variety and we intended to use these grapes for blending purposes only. But we found that, often, what remains is too good to waste. So, when the grapes insist, we break our own rules and make a few barrels of (meevaller).
vi.
(rantsoen)
Kleinood Tamboerskloof Roussanne Viognier
rantsoen = ration
On Kleinood Farm, a small patch of Roussanne was planted for blending purposes.
In 2017, an exceptional year for these vines, we allowed ourselves a small portion of the best grapes to experiment with.
70% Roussanne
30% Viognier
Only 108 bottles made.
All Gone
vii.
(buurman)
Kleinood Tamboerskloof Chenin Blanc
buurman = neighbour / guy next door
Past Vintages: 2023, 2024
Current Vintage: 2025
We’ve been admiring our neighbour’s Chenin vines for years.
They finally got the hint, and offered us some grapes…
viii.
(inkommer)
Kleinood Tamboerskloof Grenache Blanc
inkommer = johnny-come-lately / outsider
Past Vintage: 2022, 2023
Upcoming Vintage: 2026
We happened to stumble upon a very special block of vines in the Piekenierskloof.
Being a Rhône varietal, we couldn’t resist making this wine.
ix.
(overgesetsynde)
Kleinood Tamboerskloof Whole-Bunch Syrah
overgesetsynde = expressing something in a new or different way
During the harvest of 2023, the quality of our Syrah bunches inspired an experiment.
Using the same grapes, from the same vineyards on Kleinood Farm, our winemaker kept a few of the best bunches aside.
From these, he made a single barrel of Whole-Bunch Syrah.
All Gone
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