Lammershoek

Lammershoek's documented history stretches back to 1714, when the property was granted as a lone farm in the Paardeberg to Adriaan van Jaarsveld and his French Huguenot wife Cornelia Nel. Official ownership was confirmed in 1718, and 1719 brought the first recorded planting of 600 vines on the property. The name 'Lammershoek' is Afrikaans for 'lambs' corner', a reference to legend that ewes sheltered in the protected valley to guard their lambs from raptors and the worst of the Swartland weather. The modern wine-producing era began in 1995 when the Austrian couple Anna and Paul Kretzel acquired the farm and started rebuilding the vineyards and cellar. The German Stephan family bought a half-share in 1999 and operated the estate through the 2000s. In 2013 the property changed hands again, this time to a consortium of German businessmen and sporting executives including the well-known former footballer Franz Beckenbauer. The current owners are Andres and Sonja Abold, a husband-and-wife team who took the property through its most recent restructuring. Throughout this ownership turbulence, the vineyards themselves have been the constant. The dry-land bush-vine plantings on the Paardeberg's decomposed-granite soils are the project's defining asset and the reason every successive ownership has stayed committed to the estate.

• Property granted 1714/1718 to Adriaan van Jaarsveld and Cornelia Nel; first vines 1719
• Modern wine-era founded 1995 by Anna and Paul Kretzel; Stephan family took a half-share in 1999
• Acquired 2013 by a German-led consortium including Franz Beckenbauer
• Current owners Andres and Sonja Abold; the Paardeberg bush-vine vineyards have been the constant through ownership change

Lammershoek's vineyards cover roughly 80 hectares in the Aprilskloof Valley of the Paardeberg, planted on decomposed-granite soils typical of the wider Swartland appellation. The plantings are predominantly dry-land (unirrigated) bush vines, a low-yielding, naturally drought-adapted training system that suits the Swartland's hot, dry climate. The variety mix is anchored by old-vine Chenin Blanc, with significant plantings of Pinotage, Cinsault, Mediterranean reds (Syrah, Mourvèdre), and a small portfolio of white blending varieties. Craig Hawkins (later founder of Testalonga) joined the estate as winemaker in 2010 on the condition that he could convert the vineyards to organic farming. The conversion was completed during his tenure, and Lammershoek became one of the larger organically farmed estates in the Swartland. After Hawkins left in 2015, viticulturist Marius Kotze took over vineyard management in 2018, maintaining the organic emphasis while restoring vigor to a number of older blocks that had been pushed too hard during earlier ownership transitions. The Mysteries Die Oranje Chenin Blanc draws on dry-land Chenin vines aged between 37 and 53 years old, an indication of how much heritage planting the property still preserves.

• ~80 hectares of vineyard in the Aprilskloof Valley, Paardeberg
• Predominantly dry-land bush vines on decomposed granite
• Variety focus: old-vine Chenin Blanc, Pinotage, Cinsault, Mediterranean reds, white blending varieties
• Organic conversion completed under Craig Hawkins' winemaker tenure (2010-2015); Marius Kotze on vineyards since 2018
• Die Oranje Chenin from dry-land vines aged 37 to 53 years

Lammershoek's modern range is split into two principal series. The Innocent represents the cleaner, more accessible expressions: The Innocent CVS Swartland white blends Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier into a fresh, dry-land mineral white. The Innocent Pinotage is sourced from two dry-land bush-vine vineyards aged 21 and 42 years respectively, showing the variety in a more restrained, savoury, terroir-driven register than the riper Stellenbosch Pinotages. The Mysteries range is the more experimental and expressive tier. The Mysteries White Chenin/Viognier/Chardonnay blend, the Mysteries Rosé, and the Mysteries Die Oranje skin-contact Chenin Blanc from old dry-land bush vines all sit here. Die Oranje is the most distinctive bottling: a skin-contact Chenin Blanc fermented and aged in a way that picks up the orange-wine vocabulary that Craig Hawkins helped pioneer at the estate, made now in the spirit but not the exact recipe of that earlier era. Production is intentionally limited and distribution is selective. The wines are widely available in European and South African specialist channels and remain a touchstone for those tracking the Swartland's natural-wine lineage.

• The Innocent CVS: Chenin/Sauvignon Blanc/Viognier dry-land white blend
• The Innocent Pinotage: two dry-land bush-vine sites aged 21 and 42 years; restrained, savoury
• The Mysteries: experimental range including White (Chenin/Viognier/Chardonnay), Rosé, and Die Oranje skin-contact Chenin
• Die Oranje: skin-contact Chenin from 37 to 53-year-old dry-land vines; continues the orange-wine line opened by Hawkins

Lammershoek was one of the gathering places for the loose group of producers who built what became known as the Swartland Revolution in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The combination of significant old-vine plantings, supportive ownership, and Craig Hawkins' decision to base Testalonga in the Lammershoek cellar made the estate a magnet for younger Swartland winemakers experimenting with low-intervention practices. When the Swartland Independent Producers organisation was formally established in 2015 with rigorous standards covering vineyard sourcing, dry-land farming, and minimal winemaking intervention, Lammershoek was a natural early member. The estate's organic vineyards, dry-land bush-vine focus, and commitment to old varieties fit the charter precisely. Alongside the Sadie Family, A.A. Badenhorst, the Mullineuxs, and Porseleinberg, Lammershoek has been part of the conversation that reshaped how the wider South African wine industry thinks about heritage sites, dry-land farming, and minimal-intervention winemaking.

• Gathering place for the Swartland Revolution generation in the late 2000s and early 2010s
• Hosted Craig Hawkins' Testalonga project alongside its own winemaking from 2008 onward
• Early member of the Swartland Independent Producers organisation, formally established 2015
• Part of the broader Swartland conversation that elevated old-vine, dry-land, minimal-intervention production

Lammershoek is a useful study in three things at once: a three-hundred-year-old Paardeberg farm whose vineyards have outlasted multiple ownership generations, a cellar that incubated Craig Hawkins and the modern South African natural-wine movement, and a continuing producer that translates Swartland old-vine character through both accessible (Innocent) and experimental (Mysteries) ranges. For students of South African wine, Lammershoek matters for three reasons. First, the property is one of the oldest continuously documented wine farms in the Swartland and demonstrates how dry-land bush-vine planting can outlast multiple ownership transitions. Second, the estate's incubation of the Testalonga project links it directly to the Cape's pioneering natural-wine producer. Third, the current Innocent and Mysteries ranges remain useful reference points for what Paardeberg old-vine fruit can express across both clean and skin-contact styles.

• Three-century-old Paardeberg estate whose vineyards have outlasted multiple ownership generations
• Cellar where Craig Hawkins of Testalonga made his first wines (2008-2015); incubator of the South African natural-wine movement
• Continuing producer of Paardeberg old-vine Chenin, Pinotage, and Mediterranean reds across the Innocent and Mysteries ranges
• Useful reference for how dry-land bush-vine farming preserves heritage planting through ownership change