Tesselaarsdal, nestled against the Klein River mountains in the Overberg, is an area steeped rich in history. Originally knows as Hartebeestrivier, located 24km from Hermanus and the Hemel-en-Aarde area, one of two farms granted to Johannes Jacobus Tesselaar by then Governor Adriaan van der Stel, as payment for his service as a lieutenant in the Cape Burgher Cavalry for the Dutch East India Company.
Tesselaar owned slaves, had a wagon maker, horses and helped to develop agriculture in the area. He passed away in 1810, officially childless, although the thought is that he had fathered numerous children. When he passed, he bequeathed 150 horses, 38 slaves and other goods to his widow, Aaltje van der Heide.
Aaltje continued with farming operations until 1832 when she passed, and upon her passing, 2 years before the abolishment of slavery, she bequeathed the land to her slaves, with the instruction that those under the age of 15 be educated.
Berene Sauls was born and grew up in the village of Tesselaarsdal, a descendant of the freed slaves. Her grandmother farmed goats, and her grandmother and mother would walk over the mountain range to Stanford to trade these goats. After completing high school, she joined Hamilton Russell Vineyards, in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, at the age of 19 and worked for the Hamilton Russell family as an au pair.
Berene was soon moved to an administrative position and became involved with wine exports, labelling and warehousing wine for Hamilton Russell Vineyards. Her curiosity around the beautiful art of winemaking got the better of her, and before she knew it, she was working in the vineyard, progressing to the cellar.
In 2015 Anthony Hamilton Russell offered Berene a no strings attached startup cost to start her own business as a wine producer joining the Hemel-en-Aarde, and with the expert assistance of winemaker Emul Ross, she started crafting beautiful Pinot Noir and Chardonnay under her, wholly owned, label Tesselaarsdal Wines.
In 2019, Berene acquired 16 hectares of land in Tesselaarsdal, Overberg, which has been planted with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards. These vineyards will come to fruition in 2031, and she is working on having the area classified as its own Wine of Origin: Tesselaar Hills, leaving a legacy for her two sons.
Currently, grapes are sourced from the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, from unirrigated vineyards. She often references Burgundy, as these great wines have helped to shape her palate
The 2023 Chardonnay has spent 5 months in 45% amphorae with a balance of neutral oak. With refreshing bright acidity, crystalline and notes of white citrus and stone fruit, this elegant Chardonnay is the perfect pairing with tempura prawns, a mild chicken korma, Caesar salad, carbonara or Sunday pork roast served with apple sauce.
The 2023 Pinot Noir has spent 9.5 months in 228lt French oak barriques, balanced almost equally between 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th fill oak. Elegantly reflecting beautiful layers of sour cherries, wild strawberries and hints of cloves. The wine is age-worthy and will pair exquisitely with an appetizer of prosciutto with truffled parmesan, pork belly, Southern-fried chicken, salmon with teriyaki or stuffed mushrooms.
Humbled by the ratings Tesselaarsdal has already received; Master of Wine Greg Sherwood referred to “next SA Pinot noir icon” on social media, Christian Eedes from Wine Magazine scored it 91/100, Jamie Goode reviewed it and scored it 94/100 and Master of Wine Tim Atkins scored 92/100.
Damon Quinlan of SWIG.co.uk referred "The wine is looking beautiful, even in the short time since we first tasted it it's taken on a bit of weight and shows a lovely balance between power, freshness and spice. it's a great effort ……"
Tesselaarsdal Wines, not just a rising star, but a star that has risen and is shining brightly.
Lovely article. Well written and informative.