For years I had been hearing about Piekenierskloof – not as a wine producer but as a source of grapes for numerous other winemakers, young and old. I didn’t realise that Piekenierskloof wasn’t just a ward (the smallest geographical unit in the South African regional classification) but one large estate, formerly a co-operative but now owned principally by two brothers, Oubaas and Potgieter van Zyl, grandsons of Johan Abraham Van Zyl who first settled the heights above Citrusdal in 1923.

The derivation of the name is from the establishment of outposts on the mountain pass by Dutch Piekeniers, pikemen – whose military poses have been wittily adapted to farming and gardening tasks on the labels! The vineyards lie across the Paleisheuwel plateau in the Citrusdal mountains at 550-700m. of altitude – all dry-farmed with a high percentage of very old vines.

Indeed the farm has the oldest Grenache in South Africa, planted in 1973 by Oubaas and Potgieter's father. That Grenache is highly sought after by the Cape's top winemakers as well as being used to great effect in Piekenierskloof's own wines. 

In September 2021,  then Piekenierskloof winemaker, Cerina van Niekirk (now at Cecilia Wines), entered the Jancis Robinson Wine Writing Competition with their entry, 'From Priorat to Piekenierskloof'. It's a great read and you can find the article here.