Cap Classique (MCC — Méthode Cap Classique)

Frans Malan became proprietor of a wine farm in 1953, and it became Simonsig in 1968. Soon after, he visited Champagne and decided he could use Chenin Blanc to make a traditional-method sparkling wine. Cap Classique was first made at Simonsig in 1971, and Malan named his brut sparkling wine Kaapse Vonkel, or Cape Sparkle. A second South African winery, Boschendal, made a dry traditional-method sparkling wine in the early 1980s. By the end of that decade enough producers were trying the style that they gathered to taste each other's base wines, share knowledge and discuss ideas, and from these annual meetings came the Méthode Cap Classique name. The Cap Classique Producers Association (CCPA) followed in 1992, the first organisation of its kind in South Africa to represent a specific wine style; in Decanter's words, it differentiates the members' premium product from the huge volume of cheap tank-fermented and carbonated bubbly produced in the country.

• 1971: Cap Classique first made at Simonsig by Frans Malan, as Kaapse Vonkel (Cape Sparkle).
• Early 1980s: Boschendal becomes the second South African winery to make a traditional-method sparkling wine.
• 1992: the CCPA is founded, with 14 founding members.
• 1994 and 2008: Cap Classique is served at the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as South Africa's President and for US President Barack Obama's acceptance speech.
• 14 March 2025: Government Notice R.5976 makes Méthode Cap Classique sparkling wine a separate class of wine.

Unlike Champagne, Cap Classique has, according to Decanter, no regional restrictions: it can be made anywhere in South Africa, and cross-regional blends are permitted. Robertson has calcrete soils, formations of hardened limestone. It lies inland, framed by the Langeberg and Riviersonderend mountains, which funnel cool air from the ocean. Philip Jonker of Weltevrede, who is based in Bonnievale, a sub-region of Robertson, puts it this way: 'We are definitely not cool-climate, but geology overrides the climate here.' Elgin, Overberg, Walker Bay, Darling, Durbanville and Plettenberg Bay all benefit from cooling ocean influences, and these cooler regions are a good source for the Pinot Noir used in Cap Classique blends.

• Robertson: calcrete soils (hardened limestone), with the Langeberg and Riviersonderend mountains funnelling cool air from the ocean.
• Elgin, Overberg, Walker Bay, Darling, Durbanville and Plettenberg Bay: cooler areas with ocean influence, a good source of Pinot Noir for blends.

According to Decanter, there are no legal restrictions on permitted grape varieties for Cap Classique, though the CCPA recommends the classic Champagne varieties; the Extended Lees Aging class may be made only from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier; and Anne Krebiehl MW, writing for Decanter, puts most of Cap Classique's success down to well-farmed Chardonnay, with Pinot Noir in second place, far ahead of other varieties. Chenin Blanc, the grape Frans Malan decided he could use to make a traditional-method sparkling wine, appears too: De Morgenzon, a Chenin Blanc specialist, makes one of the few Cap Classiques made exclusively from this variety.

• Extended Lees Aging class: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier only.
• Chenin Blanc: one of the few Cap Classiques made exclusively from it comes from De Morgenzon.

Simonsig, where Cap Classique was first made, and Boschendal, the second winery to make the style, continue to make Cap Classique. Villiera has been making Cap Classique since 1984, when winemaker Jeff Grier partnered with Champagne's Jean-Louis Denois. Graham Beck, whose winery is in Robertson, is in Decanter's words one of the country's most important Cap Classique producers, and, writes Anne Krebiehl MW in Decanter, big producers such as Graham Beck have long led the way with long-aged top cuvées; Cuvée Clive is its prestige bottling. Other styles show the range: Charles Fox's Cipher Blanc de Noirs Brut 2017 is made from a blend of Pinot Noir and Meunier, and Colmant's non-vintage Blanc de Blancs Brut uses Chardonnay sourced from Robertson, Bonnievale, Elgin and Franschhoek, with malolactic fermentation avoided.

• Simonsig: Kaapse Vonkel, the first Cap Classique, first made in 1971.
• Boschendal: the second South African winery to make a dry traditional-method sparkling wine, in the 1980s.
• Villiera: making Cap Classique since 1984, when winemaker Jeff Grier partnered with Champagne's Jean-Louis Denois.
• Graham Beck (Robertson): Cuvée Clive, its prestige bottling.
• Charles Fox: Cipher Blanc de Noirs Brut 2017, a blend of Pinot Noir and Meunier.
• Colmant: Blanc de Blancs Brut NV, Chardonnay from Robertson, Bonnievale, Elgin and Franschhoek, malolactic fermentation avoided.

South Africa's Liquor Products Act regulations, as amended by Government Notice R.5976 of 14 March 2025, set out how Méthode Cap Classique sparkling wine is made. For the 2023 harvest and beyond, the grapes are whole bunch pressed, and written notice of the start of whole bunch pressing must reach the WCA at least one working day beforehand. The wine goes through a second alcoholic fermentation solely in the bottle in which the product is to be sold; written notice of its start must reach the administering officer at least three working days beforehand. The wine stays in contact with its lees in that bottle for a continuous period counted from the start of the second fermentation: at least nine months for grapes of the 2022 harvest and before, and at least twelve months for grapes of the 2023 harvest and beyond. The lees are removed by degorgement, and the carbon dioxide in the bottle must come solely from the second alcoholic fermentation. For bottles of more than 1,5 litres or less than 750 ml, the administering officer may on application allow a departure from the in-bottle fermentation and lees-contact rules. From the 2023 harvest the wine may only be sold once certified, and certification under the Wine of Origin Scheme is compulsory for MCC sparkling wines. Méthode Cap Classique sparkling wine with Extended Lees Aging is a class of its own: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier only, whole bunch pressed, at least thirty-six months on the lees, and certified. The separate class for traditional-method sparkling wine keeps its own, unchanged requirements, and may use Methode cap classique sparkling wine as an alternative designation if made from grapes of the 2022 harvest and before. Decanter reports that the CCPA requires its members to use only the first 450 litres of juice from pressing 1,000 kg of grapes for their top expressions, rising to 600 litres for simpler styles. For comparison, non-vintage Champagne must age in the cellar for at least 15 months and vintage Champagne for at least 3 years from bottling.

• Class names: Méthode Cap Classique sparkling wine (alternative: MCC sparkling wine) and Méthode Cap Classique sparkling wine with Extended Lees Aging (alternatives include MCC ELA sparkling wine).
• Lees contact: at least 12 months for grapes of the 2023 harvest and beyond, at least 9 months for the 2022 harvest and before, counted from the start of the second fermentation.
• Extended Lees Aging: at least 36 months on the lees; Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier only.
• From the 2023 harvest: whole bunch pressing and certification before sale.
• Champagne, for comparison: non-vintage at least 15 months and vintage at least 3 years in the cellar, from bottling.

Simonsig's Johan Malan, son of Frans Malan, frames the style in his own words: 'We are not making a copy of Champagne,' and 'we have sunshine in the Cape, so you have to be able to taste that sunshine in Cap Classique.' Anne Krebiehl MW writes that the top wines are invariably left to age much longer, and that for the boutique specialists it is ageing rather than vintage-dating that denotes quality.

• Lees ageing: legal minimum 12 months from the 2023 harvest; the Extended Lees Aging class requires at least 36 months.

Primary sources (South African Government Gazette; SAWIS Wine of Origin scheme bulletin; Comité Champagne): https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202503/52263rg11809gon5976.pdf, https://www.sawis.co.za/winelaw/download/Amendments_to_Regulations_and_W_O_Scheme_final.pdf, https://www.champagne.fr/en/champagne-frequently-asked-questions. Secondary sources (Decanter; WSET): https://www.decanter.com/premium/cap-classique-50-years-of-south-african-sparkling-wine-456329/, https://www.decanter.com/premium/cap-classique-south-africas-sparkling-wine-success-story-513144/, https://www.decanter.com/decanter-best/best-cap-classique-value-picks-537119/, https://www.wsetglobal.com/news-insights/insight-opinion/a-guide-to-sparkling-wine-production-methods-and-regional-styles/. Last verified 2026-11-09