The Overgaauw Tria Corda red blend was released in 1979. Originally a Bordeaux Style wine combining cabernet sauvignon and merlot, it was given a Cape flavour with the addition of cinsaut. It later became more classically Bordeaux with cabernet franc replacing cinsaut as the third ingredient.
In 1983 Braam bottled a merlot (a 1982 vintage), unheard of as a single-varietal wine in the Cape at the time. The Van Veldens had been among the first to plant the variety in 1975. Once the wine they bottled the most of, it was re-introduced recently with the 2009 vintage after a few years' hiatus.
The Van Veldens were also in the vanguard of Cape winemakers maturing their reds in small French oak barrels from as far back as their maiden 1970 vintage: until then, large wooden vats had been the norm locally. Braam's father had travelled to Bordeaux with compatriot Frans Malan of Simonsig in 1969 and subsequently imported some second-fill barrels from First Growth Chateau Latour.
Braam himself had visited the Medoc during his studies in Germany. 'I've always loved Chateau Latour. One of the few places one could find overseas wines locally in the 1970s was the old Van Riebeeck Bottle Store. Mr Sakinofsky - we used to call him Dom Sakkie - used to dip into his private collection to give us a bottle of something special: a Latour or a Margaux. In those days we thought we were paying quite a bit… about 80 cents [10 US cents], maybe R12,80 [$1,70] for a First Growth!'
For Braam’s recent 60th birthday the family opened a bottle of Chateau Haut-Brion from those days, for which he'd paid the princely sum of R37 [$5].
Part of the renewal after Braam joined his father in the 1970s was the replanting of the farm to noble varieties. Though mainly reds, they also established chardonnay, and Overgaauw was one of the early labels on the local market in the 1980s.
In the early 1990s, Braam completed a detailed two-year analysis of all the soils on the 100-hectare property. It was used as the basis of a second methodical 10-year vineyard overhaul, matching classical varieties to the most suitable sites, resulting in a 60:40 ratio of red to white as it is today. It’s mainly the classical Bordeaux reds plus shiraz and pinotage, with touriga nacional and a small mix of other port varieties. Semillon and a new clone of sylvaner have been added to chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and chenin blanc.
‘In one's lifetime as a winemaker one probably has a chance to plant/replant a vineyard only twice and about 30 chances to make wine from that vineyard. Anything more is a privilege.’
Braam’s career-long hands-on work in Overgaauw’s vineyards guided his decision to bring a winemaker on board from the 1991 vintage to help him in the cellar, giving him time to focus on the new vineyards. Among his memorabilia are ledgers of handwritten records of plantings and weather patterns dating back over many decades. 'You can't make good wine if you don't have good-quality grapes.'
In the true collaborative tradition of the farm, Chris Joubert worked side-by-side with Braam for more than a decade, during which time he also helped to mentor David before moving on in 2002. Braam the traditionalist provided much the same winemaking environment for his son (his shadow in the cellar since the age of five) as his father had for him. First get the business degree, then learn the ropes in the cellar and in the vineyards, then work overseas to gain international experience. Braam's Germany and Geisenheim Institute in the Rheingau was his son's France and Château Clos des Jacobins in Saint-Emilion (under the mentorship of Château l'Angélus co-owner Hubert de Boüard de Laforest).
The strong father-son relationships in the Van Velden family are not only forged in the cellar and vineyards, but also during hunting weekends, usually to the Moordenaars Karoo near Laingsburg. Braam describes the ritual of boys being taught to handle their first .22 rifles and eventually graduating to shooting their first buck (usually the smaller rhebok, springbok and blesbok).
‘Sometimes we're lucky enough to bag a gemsbok. Most people just make droëwors [dried sausage] and biltong from it, but we like to use as much meat as possible: rump, fillet, sirloin.' His wife recalls many a hunting trip ending with Braarn's bok being dumped on Overgaauw's kitchen table. 'And then I had to take it from there! We basically eat whatever Braam shoots or catches!'
The 'catching' happens in Hermanus where the family gather regularly at their holiday house. It's there, back in the 1970s, that Braam's young bride was tasked with trying her hand at making soup from the black mussels he had collected on the rocks. It had been one of his favourite dishes since his first taste during his student years at Geisenheim.
At Overgaauw there's always been, and probably always will be, history quietly in the making. Yet a modest Braam may well say, as he has been quoted, that his main role has been to hold this land in trust for future generations.
Black mussel soup recipe Overgaauw Sylvaner white wine by Braam van Velden....
Springbok shin recipe by Braam van Velden with Overgaauw Tria Corda or DC Classic red wine....