La Brune makes cool-climate wines in the Elgin Valley with a “Burgundian philosophy,” focusing primarily on selective parcels of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. They’re Vine Street’s only producer entirely based in the Elgin Valley, a Cape South Coast district known for its cooler temperatures and apple orchards. There is a certain seriousness and elegance that marks La Brune wines. In the same way a dog resembles its owner, these wines make sense coming from Nico and Christelle Grobler, a down-to-earth husband/wife team. Nico, the winemaker, is a man who takes his craft very seriously – though not without a dash of South African gaiety.

Nico and Christelle are convinced that the Elgin Valley is the closest thing South Africa has to a Burgundian climate. The obsession with Burgundy comes from plenty of time spent there. Nico has done regular harvests in Mercurey at Domaine Bruno Lorenzon and considers Bruno a close friend. To Nico, being of a “Burgundian philosophy” means letting the land be the guide. It means choosing the best sites for the varieties he wants to work with (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir) and being meticulous about clonal material to find the acme of terroir + clone + farmer. The Burgundian philosophy also extends into the cellar in the form of small-batches, careful management of spontaneous fermentations, and aging in used French oak to complement rather than dominate the wine.

La Brune has been a side project for Nico since 2011 while he was working full time at Eikendal in Stellenbosch; a decade later, he and Christelle and their two daughters moved to Elgin to focus on making Chardonnay and Pinot Noir full time under the La Brune label. They were able to acquire a 40-acre property on Viljoenshoop Rd, and it is here that they planted a small, high density, multi-clone vineyard of Pinot Noir. Chardonnay followed suit. The Valley wines (Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir) are sourced from a variety of vineyards throughout the Elgin Valley, and there is a strong emphasis on blending not just sites, but clones.