Alto Shiraz 2018

About the Wine Estate

When Alto’s founder, Hennie Malan, first arrived at Groenerivier in the early 1900’s, he and his son Hermanus went about picking a suitable name for the wine farm. Together, they reached a consensus on the name ‘Alto’, derived from the Latin word ‘altus’ meaning ‘high.’ To this day, the name Alto conveys a special double meaning, referring to both the unique altitude of the estate’s steep mountain vineyards and to the Malans’ aspirations of excellence which have perpetuated from generation to generation. In 1945, Alto became the second established wine estate to exist in South Africa, and by 1946, it was the first red wine producing private cellar. Located within the Helderberg’s ‘Golden Triangle’ in Stellenbosch, Alto’s location provides an ideal landscape for growing grapes thanks to a unique confluence of cooling Atlantic Ocean winds and some of the oldest geological soils in the world. With over 90 hectares of vine, the majority of which are Cabernet Sauvignon, to curate into Alto’s small and focused portfolio of wines, the result is an expressive range of award-winning, cool-climate wines with intense fruit appeal, longevity and complexity that always reflect their origin of excellence. As a farm with over 100 years of history, Alto is proud to have only changed winemaking hands five times. Founder Hennie Malan identified the farm’s potential to pursue a viticultural vocation, and so began a family affair in crafting fine red wine. Today, Alto has built a reputation as one of the most respected red wine producers in the country, synonymous among South African wine drinkers for producing quality red wine that delivers on quintessential aromas and flavours reflective of the variety and region, time and time again.