Doolhof Estate
Doolhof is the jewel in the Bovlei crown, nestles in its own verdant valley on the outskirts of Wellington. Sheltered on three sides by the Groenberg, Limietberge and Hawekwa mountains, at the high end of the valley beneath Bainskloof, it is easy to see why settlers in past centuries named this land “Doolhof” - or “labyrinth”.
The name labyrinth refers to the elaborate and varied terrain that offers a variety of soil types and microclimates. Soil compositions on Doolhof are rated highly and have greater potential for viticulture than many other farms. This favoured location amongst the mountains ensures that the average temperature is cooler then the Wellington norm allowing the grapes to develop gradually with depth and complexity.
In fact, the sun/wind balance ensures disease is all but absent in the vineyards. Night harvesting and hand picking are the norm, and the mysterious Doolhof dew caressing the grapes gives them a certain “je ne sais quoi” - the final touch.
The estate was established in 1995 by viticulturalist Hendrik Laubscher. In 2003 the Kerrison family purchased the property and with the newly built, state of the art winery has a production capacity in excess of 200,000 litres they set about creating Doolhof Wines. Today Hendrick is Chief Viticulturalist and Wine maker Theresa Swart (formerly of Groot Constantia) have begun to produce an exceptional range of wines that are already winning high praise with Veritas and Michelangelo awards having already been given to many of the wines.
Doolhof Estate PO Box 157, Wellington 7655, South Africa
Tel: +27 21 873 69110
Fax: +27 21 864 23215
Web: http://www.doolhof.com
