Grape variety · Sparkling

Cap Classique

The end of the Saturday tour in the vaulted cellar of Haute Cabrière in Franschhoek. A sabre slides along the neck of the bottle, and the cork flies off with a ring of glass. Then the glasses are filled.

At Haute Cabrière, sabrage closes the Saturday cellar tour, and the cellar is where the Pierre Jourdan sparkling wines age. In South Africa, Cap Classique means sparkling wine made by the traditional method: the second fermentation takes place in the very bottle it is sold in, and the yeast is removed at the end by disgorging. Stricter rules apply from the 2023 harvest. All grapes are whole-bunch pressed, and the wine spends at least twelve months on the lees, up from nine.

first Cap Classique, Simonsig's Kaapse Vonkel
1971
minimum time on the lees from the 2023 harvest
12 months
for Extended Lees Ageing
36 months
Cap Classique Producers Association founded
1992

It started in 1971. That year Frans Malan of Simonsig bottled Kaapse Vonkel, South Africa's first bottle-fermented sparkling wine, originally from Chenin Blanc. The Cap Classique Producers Association was founded in 1992. According to WOSA, Chardonnay serves as a base wine, and a large part of the Pinot Noir crop goes into Cap Classique. A label that says Extended Lees Ageing may only use Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, and the wine must spend at least 36 months on the lees.

Graham Beck near Robertson is a Cap Classique-only cellar on limestone soils. Cellar master Pieter Ferreira has been there since 1990, and the first Classic came out in 1993. Krone (Twee Jonge Gezellen) in Tulbagh bottles only vintage Cap Classique; the 1969 earthquake set its plans back by twenty years, and the first Borealis, from the 1987 vintage, was released in 1991. In Paarl the Laborie brand belongs to the KWV, and at the KWV Emporium you can pair Laborie Cap Classique with macarons. At Van Loveren in the Robertson Valley, the weekday cellar tour ends with a glass of Cap Classique.

Our tipGraham Beck takes bookings through an enquiry form, for groups of up to ten. Krone in Tulbagh holds tastings by reservation only (both as of September 2026).

Cap Classique to order

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Cap Classique: frequently asked questions

How long does Cap Classique have to age on the lees?

From the 2023 harvest, Cap Classique must spend at least twelve months on the lees, up from nine. Extended Lees Ageing requires at least 36 months.

What was South Africa's first Cap Classique?

South Africa's first bottle-fermented sparkling wine was Kaapse Vonkel, made by Frans Malan at Simonsig in 1971, originally from Chenin Blanc.

Where can you taste Cap Classique in the Cape Winelands?

In the Cape Winelands you can taste Cap Classique at Graham Beck in the Robertson Valley, Krone in Tulbagh and Haute Cabrière in Franschhoek, among others. Graham Beck and Krone ask you to book.