Lievland

THE HISTORY 

Lievland, directly translated, means “love land”, and there are few who come to this farm that aren’t charmed by its bucolic beauty. Twenty years ago, Lievland was considered one of South Africa’s top estates. José Conde and Tyrrel Myburgh, partners in MAN Family Wines, purchased the farm in late 2017 with the goal of resurrecting it to its former glory. The farm is situated at the northern end of Stellenbosch, along what is referred to as the Simonsberg “Golden Mile” of wine estates. Lievland was originally part of a much larger estate, Natte Vallei, that was granted to Jurgen Hanekom, a Dutch East India Company woodcutter in 1715. After passing through a number of owners over the years, the farm was divided into its current boundaries in 1934 and sold to the Baron and Baroness Von Stiernhjelm of Latvia who planned to immigrate, looking to escape the strife that was engulfing their homeland. The Baron died before the family left Europe, and the widowed Baroness moved to South Africa with her five children and took over the farm with no previous experience in farming. It was Hendrika, the Baroness, who renamed the farm Lievland, after the birthplace of her husband and children. She was, at the time, unique in being a single woman managing a large Cape wine farm. Poor and totally inexperienced in farming and wine production, with the help of her neighbours and her own powerful drive, she established the vineyards and developed a reputation for the wines. Initially selling door-to-door, she eventually managed more than 173 acres of vineyards - all plowed by horse! Over the years Lievland became known as arguably Stellenbosch’s top Syrah producer. Along the way it garnered several firsts: it is said to be the first to have a female winemaker and the first to produce a certified barrel-fermented Chenin Blanc. Today, Lievland is certified sustainable by the Integrated Production of Wine. 

THE VINEYARDS 

Lievland is situated within a horseshoe-shaped valley on the northwestern slope of the Simonsberg mountain. The unique bowlshape of the farm gives it a wide range of microclimates with south, west, and north-facing slopes and elevations from 590-1475 feet. The farm consists of mainly clay-rich decomposed granite soils. Its sheltered position makes for cooler-than-average conditions for Stellenbosch as well as protection against the harsher southern winds.