Bartinney is set on the dramatic slopes of Botmaskop alongside the Helshoogte Pass overlooking the picturesque Banhoek Valley in Stellenbosch. Established in 1912, Bartinney has been in the Jordaan family since 1953. Now Rose and Michael Jordaan tend to the 28 hectare farm, with a vision to create excellent wines and reawaken the charm of the historic land.
The old vines are planted to a height of 550m above sea level and with slopes as steep as 45 degrees, create wines that have exceptional expression and character. Small pockets of low yielding, hand-tended Chardonnay vineyards offer up perfect fruit on the cooler elevated slopes.
Creating excellent wine has not been their singular pursuit as their belief is that everything should work in harmony: agriculture with nature, people with animals, sustainability with excellence. Accordingly, alien vegetation has been cleared and Rose started her own nursery growing indigenous water-wise fynbos to restore the neglected slopes, and provide habitats for a wide array of birds, animals and other organisms. The new plantings of fynbos form an ecological corridor that runs from the lofty Botmaskop down to the Zevenrivieren River. Biological pest control, rather than pesticides is used, and no herbicide has been sprayed fro a number of years.
Bartinney is Carbon Neutral. This means that a zero carbon footprint in both farming and wine making has been achieved. 50% of Bartinney’s power is generated through solar. The farm is a long-standing Champion status in the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative since September 2010 and is a member of WIETA (Agricultural Ethical Trade Initiative).