The family-run Springfield Estate is located in the mountain-ringed Robertson Valley in the Western Cape. The Bruwer family are fourth-generation wine farmers and ninth-generation descendants of the Bruères, French Huguenots who came to South Africa from the Loire in 1688 with bundles of vines under their arms. The estate is currently run by Abrie and his sister, Jeanette Bruwer.
The Springfield philosophy is to produce wine as naturally as possible. The winemaking process is kept direct and uncomplicated – the wine is left to make itself, as was done centuries ago.
Life from Stone derives its name from the incredibly rocky soils in which it is grown. Every year the vineyard battles against nature in order to produce this wine. Monumental human effort was required to plant the vines – implements destroyed, and apparently, in the case of the older vineyards, dynamite deployed. A true expression of the site’s terroir, this wine will drink well now, or can be enjoyed in the next two to three years.