Durbanville Hills winemaker Martin Moore’s early years were spent as cellarmaster at other wineries during which time he often worked with vineyard owners in Durbanville. He was always impressed with the quality and potential of the grapes of this area. At the end of 1998, after six years as Groot Constantia’s cellarmaster, he joined Durbanville Hills.
When asked about the number of wines he would like to produce, he will answer that the hills decide if a particular wine will be released under the Durbanville Hills label. Only the best, the most unique wines will go into the bottle. Among the vineyards in the area there is a richness not easily equalled anywhere else. “What is lacking at the one vineyard is in abundance at the other.”
Martin aims to make wines that are full and fruity. They should be drinkable upon release, but have maturation potential for a minimum of 5 – 8 years. His ideal white wines are so- called “fatter” wines. The Sauvignon Blanc should taste even better after a year.
He experiments with sediment contact in white wines and different types of wood for maturation. He wants the complexity of the wood to be in perfect balance with the wine.
He loves the wines of Alsace. His ideal Chardonnays are those from Chablis and the Sauvignon blancs from Sancerre. Among the red wines his personal favourite is the Medoc style; where he spent two harvests under Paul Cissac.
Although Durbanville is in many ways similar to Constantia, the area has the advantage of about an hours’ more sunlight. For the ripening and colouring of the grapes it is a great advantage.