Located in the Bottelary Hills, with elevated south-west facing slopes overlooking Table Bay, the boutique 36 hectare Steenkamp family farm Friesland is ideally situated for producing the finest quality Stellenbosch varieties. Friesland is also a province in the northern part of The Netherlands, and hence honours the Dutch heritage of the first Steenkamps settling in the Cape during the late 1600’s.
The Steenkamps love their red wine and Karoo lamb (the latter coming from the family farm close to Sutherland), with late father Kosie’s Karoo roots symbolized by the windmill on the Friesland farm and also appearing on the labels. The Friesland team is also hosting destination marketing (sunset tasting events) in the vineyard.
1. STELLENBOSCH
Our family wines are certified Wine of origin Stellenbosch and come from the two family farms Friesland and Groenland in the Bottelary Hills, or get selected and bought in from surrounding Stellenbosch farms. With elevated South-west facing slopes looking out towards Table Mountain and Table Bay and well-drained gravel soils with coffee stone, Bottelary is a down-to-earth, beautiful wine growing region.
2. FAMILY
Husband and wife team De Bruyn and Marilise Steenkamp are the owners of Friesland wines. Cape Wine Master De Bruyn grew up as 4th generation on the Steenkamp family land and blended the wines sourced from the best Stellenbosch vineyards.
3. QUALITY
Our family range comprises five premium labels of which 3 are Red and 2 White, with a particular love for Bordeaux-styled blends. Stellenbosch is Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot country and the wines are rich, fruit driven, elegant and well backed up by grippy tannins and structure to last.
Our Farm
The Friesland wine farm is located in the Bottelary Hills outside of Stellenbosch and (given its elevated south-west facing slopes overlooking Table Bay in the distance) offers ideal growing conditions for top quality wines. The farm has been owned by the Steenkamp family since 1999 when brand owner De Bruyn’s dad Kosie purchased this beautiful 36 hectare piece of land which has since been planted with top quality Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc, with some old bush vine Chenin Blanc (planted in 1981) rounding off the varietal selection. Friesland is of course also a province in the northern part of the Netherlands, and hence honours the Dutch heritage of the first Steenkamps settling in the Cape during the late 1600’s.
De Bruyn’s late dad Kosie grew up in Sutherland (coldest town, star gazing capital) in the Karoo and brought back our family’s love for the open veld, the clear skies and sitting around a fire in the “takskerm”. The fact that there is a windmill on the Friesland farm links back well to our Karoo roots. The family land (bigger farm Groenland) originally came into the Steenkamp family via the ladies as De Bruyn’s mother Helene grew up on the farm with dad Kosie buying the Groenland farm in the mid 70’s after grandfather Piet passed away. De Bruyn (4th generation) has 3 siblings: the twins Piet (farming on Groenland) and Antoinette, and winemaker Marié.
As we are keen to share the beauty of our landscape (and the great view of Table Mountain) with our customers, the Friesland team launched a wine tasting venue in the Friesland vineyards where De Bruyn will host group/corporate tastings for up to 30 people.
Family Ranges
M-Klas Range
Background:
- Ultra premium single label range from the upper farm Friesland, a boutique 36 hectare vineyard
- Elevated slopes with a maritime influence and ideally situated for its plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc
- Honours the Steenkamp family’s Dutch heritage
- Wine of origin Stellenbosch
- 12 months’ maturation in new French oak barrels
- Platter’s rating – 91
- Wine Enthusiast USA – 90
- Gilbert & Gaillard – Double Gold
Friesland M-Klas Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon is dedicated to Marilise who shares this wine’s characteristics of class, strength, beauty and elegance. The M-klas offers top quality Cabernet Sauvignon and tastes like premium Stellenbosch should: layers of dark black fruit and blackcurrant combine with an integrated tannin structure and a velvety mouthfeel given the more than 12 months of oak maturation. Enjoy these honest family Stellenbosch wines tonight or over the next three decades.
Terroir Range
Background:
- Super Premium dual label tier from the upper farm Friesland, a boutique 36-hectare vineyard
- Elevated slopes with a maritime influence and ideally situated for its plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc
- Honours the Steenkamp family’s Dutch heritage
- Wine of origin Stellenbosch
Friesland Broer & Suster (“Brother & Sister”) Shiraz-Grenache is a smart blend combining the masculine robustness and body of Shiraz with the feminine elegance and fruit-driven profile of Grenache… and celebrates siblings making great wine together. The Shiraz component brings structure, dark fruit and spice flavours to the blend, with the Grenache part adding elegance, bright red fruit and sweeter notes of cinnamon and chocolate. The wine was fermented in open concrete fermenters and matured in French and American oak barrels for 12 months. Enjoy these honest family Stellenbosch wines tonight or over the next decade. Platter’s rating – 88
Friesland Berg & See (“Mountain & Sea”) Chenin Blanc is a lightly wooded, classy, medium-bodied and fresh wine, fruit-driven, dry and well-balanced. The wine features beautiful varietal characteristics of guava, ripe summer fruit and white pear… and celebrates the glorious Stellenbosch hills and ocean’s proximity. Enjoy these honest family Stellenbosch wines tonight or over the next three years. Gilbert & Gaillard – Double Gold.
Winemaker’s Range
Background:
- Premium triple label tier from the upper farm Friesland, a boutique 36-hectare vineyard
- Elevated slopes with a maritime influence and ideally situated for its plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc
- Honours the Steenkamp family’s Dutch heritage
- Wine of origin Stellenbosch
Friesland Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon is a classy, structured and silky wine, full-bodied and well-balanced. The Merlot component brings soft tannins, coffee and plum flavours to the blend, with the Cabernet Sauvignon part adding structure, weight and flavours of berries and chocolate. The wine was fermented in open concrete fermenters and matured in French oak barrels for 12 months. Enjoy these honest family Stellenbosch wines tonight or over the next decade. Gilbert & Gaillard – Gold.
Friesland Old Bush vine Pinotage was produced from old, low-yielding bush vines planted in granite soils 250m above sea level and matured in older barrels for 9 months. The wine is fresh, fruit driven and shows off flavours of plum, cherry, cinnamon and cloves. The palate is smooth, juicy and well-rounded, resulting in a perfect food wine.
Friesland Sauvignon Blanc is a classy, structured and fresh wine, elegant, dry and well balanced. The wine features beautiful varietal characteristics of tropical fruit, passion fruit and hints of asparagus and green pepper. Enjoy these honest family Stellenbosch wines tonight or over the next three years. Gilbert & Gaillard – Gold.
Western Cape Range
Clear Streams
Background:
- Driven by true terroir expression, the wines of the clear streams range portray the best of the Western Cape’s clean and scenic nature and our ideal microclimate
- Our grapes are grown in optimum growing conditions resulting in fruit driven, elegant and classy wines with great mouthfeel and taste
- Wine of origin Western Cape
Clear Streams Sauvignon Blanc – features flinty freshness with a crisp clean fruit profile. Green pepper with hints of tropical fruits and quince fill the palate with a very well-balanced acidity. Hints of lemon-zest and an enjoyable minerality on the finish.
Clear Streams Cabernet Sauvignon – grapes were picked late in the harvest to achieve optimum ripeness. The wine underwent malolactic fermentation and matured on french oak staves for 3 to 6 months to add complexity. The rich black current fruit flavours and complimented by juicy tannins and soft vanilla spice with a long, elegant finish.
Our People
De Bruyn grew up in the Cape winelands on his family’s wine estate.
He is a lawyer by trade with a Master’s degree in International trade law, and is a member of the Institute of Cape Wine Masters. He has more than two decades’ global experience in the wine industry which includes roles as Global Director of Sales & Marketing at KWV and before that various roles with Distell, including a 4-year stint in London as International Business Manager.
In addition to the FRIESLAND business, he also runs a wine advisory firm called BANNER Global Wine Solutions and is commercial director of Dutch based Excelsis Trading Cooperatie (www.excelsiscoop.com).De Bruyn loves wine and the wine industry and has travelled extensively across the globe.
Marilise Steenkamp is married to De Bruyn and holds B.Comm. Psychology and Teaching degrees. She spent a decade in the United Kingdom, amongst others working for the Walt Disney company in sales logistics and operations.
She handles invoicing, order management, logistics and inventory.
Stefan grew up in Wellington, South Africa, surrounded by vineyards and wineries with the area commonly known as “the heart of the Cape Winelands”. After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering at Stellenbosch University, Stefan started his professional career in the automotive industry.
More recently Stefan, to follow his passion for the wine industry, made a career shift to the export industry with a focus on entry to premium wine exports where he gained an in depth knowledge of the international wine supply chain. His hands-on experience with production and project management techniques are highly beneficial to ensure that every order’s expectations are exceeded with regards to quality and on-time delivery.
He is in charge of finance, production, procurement, logistics and quality control.
