We asked Rob to tell us a little more about Haut Espoir (HE), and their approach to life, wine, the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Franschhoek and the simple beauty of a hand-crafted wine.

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the Haut Espoir estate. What makes it so special?

The Armstrong Family purchased Haut Espoir, a 23 ha patch of mountain in Franschhoek 10 years ago. There was nothing on the property apart from a major alien vegetation problem and a dilapidated old farm dam. In the last ten years we have planted half the farm to vineyards and the rest to an endemic fynbos restoration project. Wineries and houses and roads have been built, we have launched a great range of wines and we strive to reflect the care and attention that the farm pays to the environment in every glass of wine. What makes HE special to me is the unique position of the farm, we get spectacular views of the valley, and we are surrounded by wilderness which gets the game ranger in me going daily, we still see signs of leopard, caracal, loads of snakes and birds. There’s always something new to see and learn here.

2. Possibly the single best view in all of Franchhoek, the &UNION team was treated to a glass of Gentle Giant whilst taking in the view from your driveway. Any plans to make that view available to more people? Everyone is opening ‘Boutique Hotels’ these days. Hautel Espoir maybe?

I like the name, will swap you some Gentle Giant for the trademark! At the moment we are actively encouraging people who visit Franschhoek to come on up to the farm, either enjoy a cellar tour or fynbos and vineyard walk. My other passion is Food, so maybe a small restaurant (with a big deck to appreciate the views) one day, the goal is to have a small farm kitchen where the menu changes daily and everything served on the plate will originate from the farm..that for me is the essence of terroir and provenance. For now a Hautel Espoir is not on the cards. Franschhoek has some great boutique overnight stays, I would rather leave that to those who know what they are doing and doing well.

3. What is HE’s philosophy when it comes to producing wines?

We aim to produce wines that reflect distinction of where the grapes are grown, wines that are handcrafted and produced in harmony with nature.

4. Which is your current favourite, and what would the ideal food pairing be?

Joh, tricky one. Its winter time, so easy choice must go for reds, but I bumped onto one our first ever whites we bottled here, a 2004 Semillon. Its drinking beautifully now, the years have been kind and the honeycomb and lanolin in the wine is showing off well. Paired with this my wife’s Waterblommetjie Bredie…divine. Onto the reds, I have always and will always be a Cab man. My ideal pairing on this is a bit whacked out, it’s a spicy biltong, preferably game and always has to be nice and wet. Eland biltong my mate Flatty use to make up in the Cederberg has to be the all time favorite of mine with a big glass of cab.

5. &Union has had great success with the Haut Espoir unfiltered Viognier. Young, and busting with life. Do you think South Africans are ready, and brave enough to enjoy something like this?

I have been so pleasantly surprised at the response we have had from this wine with you guys. After the first initial discussion I was slightly hesitant to bottle the wine straight out of barrel practically unprocessed in any way. This to me is the essence of a wine, the way the doyens hundreds of years ago would have made and appreciated wine. The hesitance came from wondering if the wine would be accepted. Local palettes have adapted and are ready to try new wines, new foods and are generally much more adventurous. Only when they are served with the correct backup however, at &Union there is great product knowledge and the customer is assured by the staff who can explain why the wine is cloudy and perhaps with a bit of sediment in the bottle….this I feel is what makes the difference to our unfiltered Viognier.

6. Describe an ideal day in Rob’s life, on the HE estate.

Early start, catch the sunrise over the Franschhoek Range, take my ridgeback Mishka for a walk. Into the office and a strong espresso or Rooibos, depends on the night before…. Depending on the season, whether its harvesting or pruning we like to be in full swing by the time the sun is strong enough to let us see. Nothing beats the smell of a wood fire, at around ten the guys come back in from the vines for breakfast and a catch up on the day’s activities.
Preferably this is when the first visitors arrive on the farm, ideally I would be thrilled if the first groups were into a walk, up into the fynbos to chat about fynbos and our Biodiversity projects, then into a quick tasting. Lunch down at one of the Hoeks famous eateries, I’m a sucker for Salmon Bar noodles over lunch, on an ideal day this would include a Rafael. The back into walks, tours, tastings, nothing makes me prouder than showing people around the farm and introducing them to our wines. Admin usually gets hit with the big stick between 17:00 and 18:00, maybe a few sneaky beers. Then its bath time for James and nice meal and glass of wine or seven with the wife either enjoying the sunset or in front of the fire place.

7. What is the perfect Haut Espoir soundtrack? This applies to making the wines, as well as drinking them.

Goldfish, Zinkplaat (Nikeys Cousin Bertie is in Zinkplaat so that’s a hit) and the Orange Stilettos. Peter tosh, Burning Spear, Bob Marley, Keb Mo, Bon Iver, Bob Dylan, The John Butler Trio, Prodigy… it’s a pretty eclectic mix. The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and MGMT are my two most recently enjoyed finds.
The most played song is the Little Green Bag by the George Baker Selection from the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack….

8. Can you tell us about your emphasis on Biodiversity and what this means for you as a producer, taking responsibility for the environment in which you operate.

Grapes have threatened the Fynbos biome heavily. With the introduction of BWI principles in farming, we as an industry have managed to conserve a great deal of Fynbos and many threatened species. For me personally this is what makes the difference, the feel good factor. I don’t consider myself an owner of this property, I am merely looking after it for the next generation. The Biodiversity and Wine Initiative has been a monumental success on Haut Espoir. We have dropped our spray programmes down to minimal intervention. We rely heavily on the insects that are in the fynbos corridors around each of our vineyard blocks for protection. Integrated Pest Management is more popular for us than a tractor spray. Spraying not only costs huge money, but has massive costs on the environment. Haut Espoir has also planted out a test block of petit verdot to a sweet pea which grows here in Franschhoek, called Ortholobium decumbens, which is a natural cover crop and helps restore Nitrogen into the soil and control weeds. We are now spreading this little wonder through the rest of our vineyard blocks. We are always busy removing alien trees, and what brings me great pride is that many neighbors in the valley are adopting this approach now, Boekenhoutskloof are going fully organic, there are other active members of the BWI. And the valley as a whole is moving towards a more sustainable approach. We have just established a committee to pioneer recycling projects, nurseries, composting and worm farms. For the upcoming Bastille festival we will be selling trees to be planted in the valley.
Doing what I do fills me with great pride every day. There purely is no other way to farm.

9. Anything new and exciting we should be waiting for from Haut Espoir? Perhaps a HE Honey Mead?

Nikey is always striving for new wines, new ideas with blends. In 2009 we processed some Nouvelle for the first time, this should be pretty exciting. The mead is still in its research and development phase, I’m still experimenting with a few things, might secondary ferment it to give some bubbles to the mead…like I say it’s still R and D now. But watch this space, its going be a cracker when it’s done and in bottle.