La Bri Estate
One cannot mention La Bri without referring to the past, as the property forms an essential part of the South African wine history and culture. The original grant of La Bri is one of the oldest Huguenot-allocated farms in the Franschhoek Valley. The farm is situated in the beautiful valley previously known as Olifantshoek and the La Bri manor house – typical of later Cape Dutch architecture - is thought to have been built on this land by Pieter Eduard Jr between 1813 and 1862. Today La Bri is a vibrant boutique winery and a visit to Franschhoek won't be complete without a stopover here. The La Bri wine renaissance began with the 2008 harvest and the crushing of grapes in the new modern 120 ton cellar on the estate. The new cellar has a unique circular design and boasts a gravity-fed winemaking process which allows the winemakers to focus on limited volumes of superior quality. All grapes are hand-picked and great attention is paid to sophisticated cooling and preparation systems. The 15 hectares of vineyards at La Bri grow in diverse soil types from sandy loam to deep and rich alluvial soils – allowing for a range of grape varieties from Cabernet Sauvignon to Viognier.
