Jaaa-bru 2016

If you translate the word “Mal” from Afrikaans to English, it means “crazy” and “Bek” means “mouth”. And that was quite clearly the inspiration behind this label.

The Story:

The guy who farms this vineyard is way better than me at farming, and I don't have to give a lot of input. Guys like him are absolutely crucial to my business. He is a fellow surfer and has this habit of answering his phone with: “Jaaaa Bru?”. It’s South African slang and basically means “Yes, my brother?”. 

So this wine is the second vintage - 100% Malbec. It grows on a slope of the Helderberg Mountain - not facing the ocean, but rather facing Stellenbosch. Malbec is a strange-looking grape when it’s ripe. When we pick, it always looks unripe. The berries are soft and juicy and the flesh is green in colour. We ferment this wine without any stems and age it in larger, older French Oak barrels for less than a year.  It produces a fresh and elegant, yet complex wine.

The label:

If you translate the word “Mal” from Afrikaans to English, it means “crazy” and “Bek” means “mouth”. And that was quite clearly the inspiration behind this label.