SOUTH AFRICA
Axe Hill
Axe Hill was brought to life with the careful planning of owners, Tony and Lyn Mossop, at a remote site on the outskirts of Calitzdorp in the Klein Karoo during 1993. Tony and Lyn planted the ultimate boutique port vineyard, with only a hectare under vine. This allowed them to pay very careful attention to the progress of the young vines, while further insuring the quality of the resulting wine. Tony had been involved in wine in many ways during his career. He still is closely related to the popular wine guide John Platter’s, which has become a sort of Bible to South African Wineries. The name of the vineyard originates from the stone implements, notably the axe-like tools that were found on the now vineyard. These anthropological finds dated back a million years with carbon-14 dating methods.
Each year the wines are made from a blend of Touriga Nacional and Tinta Barroca varietals, which are matured in old 500 liter French Oak Barrels after hand sorting and foot crushing in lagares for maximum extraction of both flavors and color. Yes, they still do it the traditional way, as the Portuguese had done for centuries.
Calitzdorp is a viticulture area that has specialized in fortified ports for a number of years, and it is known as “the Port Capital of South Africa”. This unique micro-climate has typically dry, arid conditions, which add to the overall concentration of true Portuguese varietals. South Africa and Australia are the only two countries that have attempted to replicate the incredible blended, fortified red wines from the Douro Valley of Portugal.
The Maiden 1997 vintage won all sorts of accolades, which included 4 stars from Wine, as well as runner-up to the 1997 Die Krans Vintage Reserve, which won the Peter Shulz Excellence Award. The 1998 received 5 stars in the 2000 Platter’s wine guide. The beautiful packaging has also attracted quite a bit of attention, as Tony went to the trouble to import these purple glass bottles from Germany. Axe Hill Cape Vintage Port costs only a fraction of the other ports in which it compares to, thus making it one of the most sought after favorites in the Cape.