Thamnus Wines

Most people drive the R320 and keep going.

We turn off.

Up on the north-facing slopes above Hemel-en-Aarde, with Walker Bay to the south and the Kleinriver mountains at our back.

Ancient soils. Cool nights. Constant wind.

Two wines.

Nothing else.

Labelling is one of the final moments before a wine leaves our hands.

For Thamnus, this step carries particular weight. The Orothamnus Zeyheri on each bottle connects the wine back to the rare fynbos rose that grows in this part of the Overberg, and to the farm that gives our Chardonnay and Pinot Noir their shape.

The label is not a finish. It is a signpost back to origin.

We make wines that need to understood from the ground up.

The Thamnus Chardonnay begins long before the bottle, in the old Cape soils of the Overberg, where stone, root, wind and vine learn to live in proportion. Nothing here exists alone. Nothing. The rock holds memory, the vineyard carries season, and the wine becomes the point where all of it gathers.

There is prophecy in the soil if you know how to listen.

P.J. is always looking for signs. The angle of a shoot, the taste of a berry, the way the world has settled into the vine that he has to work with. These are not small observations. They are the language of the farm, and the winemaker’s work is to translate without distortion.

Call him the oracle if you must. He would probably say he is only listening.

From the vineyards of Overberg to the energy of Hong Kong.

We’re proud to be showcasing Thamnus at Vinexpo Asia 2026 this week in Hong Kong - sharing our wines, our story and a small piece of the Overberg with the world.

A privilege to be in one of the world’s most exciting wine cities. We look forward to what’s ahead.

Thamnus Chardonnay | 96 Points | Decanter

On International Chardonnay Day, we thank for recognising the Thamnus Chardonnay once again.

In only a few short years, this wine has become one of the clearest translations of our Overberg terroir - the old Cape soils, the north-facing slopes and the patient hands that carry each vintage from vine to bottle.

Decanter described it as:

“A banquet of sumptuous fruit: mangoes, melons, peaches, nectarines and citrus ripple over the mouth-wateringly juicy texture, invigorated by a flinty, mineral grip. Seamless and effortless.”

We are proud of this Chardonnay. Proud of what it has already become, and even more aware of what it still promises to reveal.

The vineyards give us the quality you have come to expect from Thamnus. As much as the juice is guided in the cellar, it begins entirely with the fruit we are fortunate to work with.

Wine is not made in a few weeks. It is a full cycle. Pruning. Sprouting. Flowering. Ripening. Waiting. The 2026 vintage began last year, long before the first grape was picked, and now we find ourselves in its final stages of formation.

A year of decisions, together.

We speak often about vineyard and cellar, but between them sits trust. Trust in the fruit. Trust in each other. Trust in the slow unfolding of a vintage in the way that it wants to unfold.

There are moments in every season where patience is the only correct decision. To have a team that understands when to act and when to wait is one of our greatest strengths.

The cogs of the machine, the heart of the brand and the fire behind the wines. Our workers know our vines more intimately than we would be able to convey, when you work with a living thing such a vine - you get to understand it’s intricacies and to have a team that understands this so well allows us to produce the type of wines that we do. For that, we remain deeply aware - and grateful.