Our love for Africa, discovery, and sparkling wine’s close association with the stars inspired the creation of “Jewel Box”. The Southern Cross, or Crux, is the best known constellation in the Southern Hemisphere’s skies, giving early explorers their bearings when traveling the southern oceans. Hidden within Crux is a fascinating deep-sky object known as Kappa crucis. Regarded as one of the finest open clusters in the Milky Way galaxy, it was discovered in South Africa in 1751. Kappa crucis took its nickname “Jewel box” from noted English astronomer, Sir John Herschel, who referred to it as a “casket of variously coloured precious stones.” The Jewel Box cluster consists of approximately 100 vibrant stars made up of a mixture of brilliant reds and blues, yellows and whites.

Winemaking: 

Jewel Box is a wine with emphasis on richness, opulence and complexity. The inspiration for this style comes from John’s all-time favourite Champagnes namely, Krug and Bollinger. The grapes were hand harvested towards the end of January 2018 and gently whole-bunch pressed to recover a maximum of only 550 litres per ton. Fermentation of the Chardonnay was split between stainless steel and old French oak barrels while the Pinot Noir was only fermented in stainless steel. This creates the basis of complex building blocks which are critical when it comes to the final blending. Here a reserve portion of Chardonnay, which has spent 12 months in old French barrels, completes Jewel Box. The final blend consists of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir. The wine spends a minimum of 48 months on the lees in order to develop the optimum complexity. Only 6576 bottles were produced.

Cultivar: Chardonnay (71%), Pinot Noir (29%)

Colour/appearance: Light straw yellow with elegant fine bubbles.

Nose: Complex aromas of roasted almonds, marzipan and subtle hints of strawberry and cherry compote followed by zesty citrus nuances.

Palate: Dry, rich and full – soft toasty creaminess with a beautiful palate weight.

Analysis: Alc – 12.0%   |   RS – 6.3g/l   |   pH – 3.16   |   TA – 6.5g/l

Food Pairings: 

Grilled game fish with rich mayo aioli

Roasted quail with Champagne risotto and wild mushrooms 

About Silverthorn Winery:

In 1976 Joachim Rieck, Karen’s father, was faced with a purchasing dilemma – buy a beautiful sea view property in Llandudno (now one of the most expensive areas in Cape Town, but at that time it had very little value) or buy Welmoed Farm, an 11 hectare property with some vineyards on the banks of the Breede River. Had he been financially driven, he might have predicted the increase in value of the Llandudno property, but he was led by a different kind of wisdom and heart – one which had learnt the value of a farm and the self-sufficiency that comes with it. Having grown up during World War II it was this gift he wished to give to his family. In 1992, when he presented the idea of handing over the family farm to his daughter, Karen, she was a young interior designer with no experience in farming. Nevertheless, Karen considered a career change and requested application forms for Viticulture and Oenology, the study of winemaking.

Only, it was John who found the empty forms lying on a table, had an epiphany and promptly filled them in, sent off his application and found himself coming out of Elsenburg 3 years later as Dux Student. Soon after, Karen’s father fell ill with an aggressive cancer and in 1999 John and Karen took full responsibility of the farm, which was at that stage running at a loss. For John as a young assistant winemaker at Graham Beck, and Karen who was expecting her second child while looking after her dying father and two-year old, the Silverthorn that exists today must have felt totally unreachable. And yet, the inklings of a dream were there. To build a cellar, to make wine and to keep the farm. This simple vision took them on a journey that would see John headhunted by Steenberg Vineyards for the position of cellar master with an offer to allow him to develop his own wine brand at the same time. For 17 years John worked at Steenberg, climbing the corporate ladder to eventually manage Steenberg Vineyards, Hotel and Restaurants before it became clear that in order to take the next steps with Silverthorn, he’d have to leave the certainty of the corporate world and enter the unchartered territory of following the dream. 

Now over two decades into the journey, Silverthorn Wines has truly established itself as a world-class Cap Classique brand and destination.