Thelema Mountain Vineyards

Colour Me Autumn

Posted on 29 April 2015 by Michelle in Newsletters

Even though our vineyards are gearing up for their annual winter break, we’re keeping busy on Thelema. Werner has just finished harvesting the olives trees planted throughout the estate. We leave the processing up to the experts and have Tokara’s Olive Shed press and bottle our oil every year. After the none existent 2014 harvest, we look forward to drizzling our salads with the new 2015 blend as soon as it is ready.

It was a taste of some Burgundy Puligny-Montrachet that convinced Gyles Webb to lay down the calculator and abandon his accounting career in Durban to become a winemaker. Shortly after, he obtained a degree in Oenology at Stellenbosch University and after gaining some work experience abroad and in South Africa, Gyles and his wife’s family fell in love with a run-down old fruit farm called Thelema.

Gyles has always given meticulous attention to the vineyards, believing that grape quality is the single most important factor in serious winemaking. This persistent precision has paid off in awards for the best vineyards in Stellenbosch. His winemaking policy is one of “benign neglect” or minimum interference, with finings and filtrations kept to an absolute minimum. Gyles also believes in the use of premium wood and you will therefore find Thelema and Sutherland’s wines resting in quality French barrels.

In 2000, Gyles handed the reins of wine making to the talented Rudi Schultz and moved into the role of cellar master.

If Gyles is not in the office or in the cellar, he is out scrutinising the vineyards on the estate.

Thelema is, as far as we’re concerned, one of the most beautiful places on earth with great old oak trees, spectacular mountain views and colourful, noisy peacocks. Situated at the top of the Helshoogte Pass with elevations that range between 370 to 640 meters above sea level and mainly south-facing slopes, it is also one of the highest and coolest estates in the area. The high altitude and the deep red soils are ideal for premium quality wine grape production.

We do not buy in any grapes and all wines are bottled on the estate to maintain absolute control over every aspect of the wine production. The terroir in combination with Gyles Webb’s wine making style result in flavourful, flamboyant, complex and long-lasting wines with a distinctive South African character. In 2000, Gyles moved into the role of cellar master and handed over the winemaking duties to the talented Rudi Schultz (one of the famous Schultz winemaking brothers). We hope you enjoy our wines and it would be a pleasure to welcome you at Thelema for a chat and a taste of our latest release.

Gyles Webb bought Thelema, a charming dilapidated fruit farm, in 1983 with the help of his wife’s family. Fruit orchards were pulled out and vines were planted. The manor house was restored and the first wines under the Thelema label were released in 1988. The ripe pure-fruited wines were a revelation to many and it wasn’t long before the romantic tale of a run-down old fruit farm became the success story of an avant-garde winery. By the mid 90’s Thelema’s wines sold out within a month after release, making it one of the most sought-after wine estates in South Africa.