The vineyard is located in the Tulbagh valley, Western Cape, South Africa at a latitude of 33 degrees South and 85km from the Western (Atlantic) coastline. It is situated on a generally North West facing slope of a spur of the Witzenberg Mountain Range between Tulbagh and Ceres.

The blocks run East West and vary in elevation from 480m to 380m above sea level. The vines have been planted on the North West face of the spur allowing the vineyard to benefit from sunlight throughout the growing and ripening season. At this elevation the nights are always cool, dropping to around 12 degrees C even at the height of summer and allowing the vines to rest from the warm days. As the sun does not rise over the steep mountainside at the Eastern end of the vineyard until mid morning the shadow keeps it cool throughout the early morning. In mid winter the mountain slopes above the vineyard have snow cover occasionally coming down as far as the vineyard.

The elevation means it is generally 2 degrees C cooler than the valley floor with a large daily temperature range and low mean daily temperature (see TULBAGH TOP data from Feb 2004 below).

The ground has many undulations allowing different blocks to enjoy a variety of aspects ranging from North East through to West. There is a dry prevailing wind from the South West and occasionally a fierce Easterly. Frontal systems come from the North West bring rain and cloud during the cooler months but only very occasionally between December and April.

All in all, the vineyard location was carefully chosen as suitable for red grape varieties. Its wide seasonal variation in temperature ensures winter dormancy, its low mean daily temperature ensures slower ripening and there is a plentiful supply of sunlight throughout the growing season.

See below for a temperature comparison between Tulbagh and other vine growing regions throughout the Western Cape.

Temperatures February 2004