Vergelegen is one of the Cape's and South Africa's most historic properties. After Willem Adriaan van der Stel succeeded his father, Simon van der Stel, as Governor of the Cape in 1700, he claimed a 30,000 hectare piece of land for himself, just as his father had done in his time at Constantia. It was registered on 1st February 1700 and he used the resources of his employer, the Dutch East India Company, to improve the estate and build the famous manor house
In 1706 a number of free burghers at the Cape drew up a formal memorandum
complaining about van der Stel's illegal activities which resulted in his being sent back to the Netherlands in disgrace
In 1798 the estate was sold to the Theunissen family, who planted vineyards
and produced grapes and wine until the phylloxera infestation,
which ruined much of the world’s wine industry in the late nineteenth century,
wiped out most of Vergelegen's grape production
In 1917 Vergelegen was purchased by the millionaire mine magnate Sir Lionel Phillips as a present for his wife Florence
She remodelled aspects of the house and planted the magnificent gardens,
but removed the few remaining acres dedicated to grapes
Following the death of Lady Phillips, the estate was purchased by the Barlow family,
and Charles "Punch" Barlow oversaw the reintroduction of a limited planting of grapes
However, by the time Anglo American bought the property from the Barlows, in 1987, no grapes were being cultivated
Anglo American drew up a detailed master plan for the development of the vineyards and,
after intensive terroir analysis conducted over two years, the first new vines were planted in 1989
A new underground wine cellar was built in the early 1990s
On our way into the estate to attend this year’s RMB Starlight Classic concert, we paused to take a few photographs
Rain clouds on their way over the mountains as we drove down Lourensford Road toward Vergelegen
The estate is a large property, famous of course for its wines
but it also has a breeding programme for fynbos, Nguni Cattle, eland and bontebok antelope and quagga
in the nature reserve, proclaimed in 2018
A view across the estate toward the Hottentots Holland mountain range
The estate has many areas of forest, with open glades
and denser areas
Part of the gardens planted by Lady Phillips - with lawns,
a herb garden, next to the Café Fleur restaurant
restful areas with ponds,
seasonally planted flowers
and the famous rose garden
The camphor trees, planted by van der Stel
A last pear of summer, outside the manor house
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