Charla Haasbroek is a small wine project in Malgas, a very remote town in South Africa’s Cape South Coast. Charla (née Haasbroek, now Bosman), is also the head winemaker at Sijnn. After studying at the University of Stellenbosch, Charla earned her stripes working harvests at Kanonkop and Tokara, and she made the inaugural old vine Chenin Blanc for Patatsfontein, which is something of a cult wine these days. From there she hopped across the pond for a stint with Margerum Wines in Santa Barbara. By the time she hit her silver jubilee, she had become the head winemaker at Sijnn, trading in her urban comforts for the hinterland of Malgas.

The line-up for her eponymous wine project includes both blends and single-varietal wines. (The current offering is a varietal Chenin Blanc and a Grenache-Syrah blend.) The fruit comes from the Sijnn vineyards planted atop large, red river stones overlying Bokkeveld shale. The vines are untrellised; they grow as bush vines. In the cellar, her ethos is simple: native yeast fermentations, lees aging, no filtration, and manual bottling and labeling.

This stylistic simplicity is mirrored in the labels. Charla’s label designer says this: “With admiration for her clear vision, adventurous spirit and hands-on approach, it was important for me that the labels capture that, while complimenting her effortless style and timeless character. For Charla, it was important for the labels to be simple; a ‘clean palette’ to allow space for the wine to be interpreted and speak for itself. The deeply-layered character of her wines informed and inspired the choice to emboss (and gold foil) the designs on textured ivory paper. Subtle lines which at closer inspection (and touch) reveal a tactile introduction to what is preserved – and awaiting – inside.”