L'Avenir Wine Estate

About L'Avenir Wine Estate

Describing itself as “proudly South African with a touch of French flair”, French-owned L'Avenir Estate, situated in an area of the Stellenbosch winelands known as the 'golden triangle', remains committed to its legacy, maintaining a focus on South Africa's signature varieties: Pinotage and Chenin Blanc which have led the estate's acclaim.

Since its inception, this Stellenbosch winery has specialised in Cape stalwarts Pinotage and Chenin Blanc, with a subtle French tone, most obviously in its name, meaning ‘the future'.

When Mauritian-born, Marc Wiehe founded L'Avenir in 1992, the farm was growing grapes for Nederburg Estate. Under the guidance of Wiehe and now legendary winemaker Francois Naude, L'Avenir swiftly rose to icon status, domestically and abroad. The 1997 L'Avenir Chenin Blanc was ranked best in the country at that year's WINE magazine Chenin Blanc Challenge. By 2004, no Pinotage had been named as frequently as L'Avenir among the Top Ten in the annual Absa Pinotage Competition, winning awards for 7 out of 8 vintages. Furthermore L'Avenir was a triple winner of the Perold Trophy for best Pinotage at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in London. And all this in addition to numerous Veritas Double Gold and Gold Awards, as well as several accolades for their Chardonnay at Chardonnay du Monde.

In 2005, famous Chablis producer Michel Laroche purchased L'Avenir from Marc Wiehe, affording Laroche a rare opportunity to secure an operating property in the Cape's most sought-after district. Francois Naude went into semi-retirement but stayed on as winemaking consultant and the estate's focus remained firmly on the cultivars deemed most emblematic of the country: Pinotage and Chenin Blanc.

A 2010 merger with French family Jeanjean formed a new venture, AdVini - the third-largest wine producer in France ¬- and L'Avenir joined a brotherhood of some of the most acclaimed and pedigreed wines in the world.

To view more wine estates in the region see Bottelary Hills Wine Estates or see South Africa Wine Estates for a general overview and links to other wine producing regions.