In 2003, at the age of 78 years old, May de Lencquesaing, former owner of Bordeaux’s iconic Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, ventured into a new chapter by acquiring Glenelly Estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa. With a nod to the French Huguenot settlers, she planted vines after a cautious study of the terroir and built a thriving winery. Her vision is to establish Glenelly as a world-class estate, producing award-winning wines with power, elegance and balance.

Nestled in a striking amphitheatre of mountains, the 123 hectares estate is planted on hilly slopes which

benefits from unique diversity of microclimates. Most of the blocks are Southeast facing allowing for a

slow and even ripening resulting in wines of great elegance and finesse. The vines benefit from a

constant cool breeze from a combination of the surrounding mountains and near ocean. The soil is one

of the oldest in the world and originates from 600 million years old decomposed granite with a deep

clay base.

On the foothills of the Simonsberg mountain’s, the soil consists of decomposed granite; poor with good

drainage, which allow the wine deep roots. Glenelly covers 57 hectares under vine. The rest of our land

is devoted to olive trees, fynbos, our biodiversity, and our other indigenous plants found only in the

Cape.

We endeavour to make our wines with minimal intervention. Our Cellar Master, Dirk Van Zyl and

assistant winemaker Léhandri Bothma, harvest at the optimum time and employs careful sorting and

natural fermentation methods. Our 6,000 m2 winery was constructed across 4 levels and operates by

gravity flow. Solar panels, recycled water and insulation against climate extremes contribute further to

lessening our environmental impact. We aim to recycle all waste that is generated.

Today Glenelly Estate produces a range of 9 wines, split over three categories:

The Glass Collection range:

Single premium varietal wines, named after May-Eliane de Lencquesaing’s lifelong passion for the art

of glassmaking. 5 wines make up this range: unoaked Chardonnay, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot,

and Cabernet Franc.

We also produce a Rose, called “Le Rose de May”, 100% from Syrah, whole bunch pressed to achieve

a lighter colour. It is a sulphur free wine and instead we use honey bush tannins as natural preservative

and antioxidant.

The Estate Reserves:

The signature wine of our Estate, 2 wines make up this range: the red using the highest quality grapes

(blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, and Petit Verdot), and the white, is a beautifully complex

oaked Chardonnay.

The Lady May:

The flagship wine of the estate, sourced from a single block of Cabernet Sauvignon, to which is blended

small proportions of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.