On Monday I stopped at the Robertson Small Hotel for a bite to eat and a cappuccino, where Monica van Niekerk of Paul René MCC came to greet me, she having been surprised at the hotel with a stork party for the imminent birth of her daughter. She contacted her husband Henk, and he in turn contacted me, inviting me to a tasting of their sparkling wines.

As I was staying at Temenos with a group of friends in McGregor, and we had already made plans for the Monday evening, I checked with Henk whether we could come the following day. Despite being in the middle of the harvest, he agreed to do a tasting with us on Tuesday.

Henk told us that Monica’s Marais family owns the farm, and it is her grandfather whose first and second names Paul René inspired the name for their sparkling wines, a Brut (with 100% Chardonnay) and a Brut Rosé (with 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay). Monica is the fourth generation Marais to live on the Wonderfontein Wine Estate outside Robertson, on the way to McGregor. We met Paul René Junior, Henk and Monica’s beautiful blond curly-haired son.

Stefan Bruwer is the winemaker. Water for the irrigation of the vines comes from a leiwater system from the Brandvlei Dam, originally named Lake Marais after Kowie Marais, a forebear of Monica. The dam allows quality wines to be produced, with continuous irrigation of the vines of the valley.

Henk and Monica started their operation in 2008, and harvested the first grapes a year later.  The first sparkling wine was produced in 2012, with 800 bottles of each. Now production has increased to 6000 bottles of each, and plans are to expand this even further. The website informs that their grapes are hand-picked early in the morning, and chilled overnight. After whole berry pressing the juice is bottled, and lies on the lees for a minimum of 20 months. It has a vibrant mousse, with notes of apricot and apple, and a dry finish. 

Paul René clients include Duchess of Wisbeach in Sea Point, the only MCC brand the restaurant stocks; The 41 in Camps Bay; La Colombe; Manna Epicure and its sister restaurant The Crab Shack; Belthazar; Kitima; Chapman’s Peak hotel; and Ellerman House. Outlets stocking the brand are La Verne Wine Shop in Robertson, Wine Concepts, Caroline’s, Giovanni’s delicatessen in Green Point, TOPS in Sea Point and Cape Quarter, Norman Goodfellows, and Wine on Time. The MCC
is exported to Taiwan and Finland, and the Netherlands will become a focus. The Cellar price is R170 per bottle.

Monica is a graphic designer, and Henk showed us her studio in their house. She has designed innovate packaging for their cases of six bottles, looking like suitcases, in pink and white. Henk is actively practicising for the Robben Island to Blouberg swim. I chatted to Henk and Monica at the Franschhoek Champagne Festival in December. 

We were impressed with the quality of the thatch-roofed staff housing at the entrance to the Wonderfontein farm, which also produces Campanile brandy, La Bonne Vigne, The Marais Family, and Wonderfontein. Grapes are also supplied to the Robertson Winery. Wonderfontein holds one of the oldest agricultural brandy distillers’ licenses in our country, granted to Ernst Marais in 1884. 

With its innovative and proactive marketing it is clear that Paul René will be bubbling up at exclusive dinner parties, top restaurants, and in the homes of trendy bubbly enthusiasts. 

Paul René MCC, Wonderfontein Wine Estate. Tel (023) 626-2212  Cell 083 380 3980 www.paulrenemcc.co.za Twitter: @PaulReneMCC Instagram: @paulrenemcc

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: click here Instagram: @Chris_Ulmenstein