Reyneke Wines

Johan Reyneke converted his Polkadraai Hills estate outside Stellenbosch to biodynamic farming in the early 2000s — a decision that made him one of the first Stellenbosch producers to hold both Demeter and Ecocert certification, and that positioned the estate at a remove from the conventional, technically polished Cabernet and Merlot that defined the appellation's commercial identity.

The estate farms primarily Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon on the decomposed granite and sandstone soils of the Polkadraai Hills, with Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc as white wine components. The biodynamic practice includes cover cropping, composting, and livestock integration — a genuinely closed-loop farm system that the Demeter certification requires and that Reyneke has maintained through multiple vintages and difficult harvest conditions.

The Reserve Red and Reserve White have drawn 95 points from Wine Advocate. The Cornerstone Cabernet Sauvignon is the estate's most ambitious statement, a Stellenbosch Cabernet made from biodynamic farming that challenges the assumption that the appellation's best Cabernet requires conventional viticulture.

Reyneke's position in South African wine is unusual: an estate of genuine quality in the heart of Stellenbosch that has chosen a farming philosophy that most of its regional peers consider economically impractical. The quality of the wines is the most direct response to that assessment.