Delaire Graff Estate

From the terrace at Delaire Graff Estate, high on the Helshoogte Pass outside Stellenbosch, the view drops over vineyards into the Banhoek valley and across to the Simonsberg and the mountains of Groot Drakenstein. The British diamond jeweller Laurence Graff bought the farm in 2003 and has since rebuilt it as a place to eat, drink, stay and look at art, with wine at its centre.

History

The farm was named Delaire by the wine writer John Platter, whose annual guide to South African wines carries his name. The name, taken from the French for 'of the air', refers to its height above the valley.

Graff was born in London's East End in 1938 and built one of the world's best-known diamond houses from a jewellery apprenticeship begun in his teens. After he bought Delaire he replanted the vineyards, built a new winery and added restaurants, and the lodges and spa followed at the end of the decade. The estate is run as a single destination, and a Graff jewellery boutique sits among its buildings. Graff's name is tied to some of the largest stones of recent decades: in 2017 he bought the Lesedi La Rona, a rough diamond of 1,109 carats found in Botswana.

Architecture and design

The interiors of the main buildings and the lodges were designed by the London studio of David Collins, who died in 2013, using stone, leather, bronze and warm earth colours. Graff's art collection runs through all of it. Paintings by South African artists hang in the restaurants and lodges, and sculpture stands in the gardens and along the paths. The gardens were planted largely with indigenous species, and terraces step down the slope so that most spaces share the view.

Rooms and suites

The ten lodges sit below the main buildings on the slope. Each has a heated plunge pool, a deck facing the mountains and a separate living area. Larger villa accommodation on the estate suits families and small groups who want more space and privacy.

Dining

Delaire Graff Restaurant, on the terrace with the valley view, serves bistro cooking alongside the estate's wines. Indochine, near the spa and lodges, cooks with South-East Asian influences in a room of its own. Wine tastings take place in the Wine Lounge, where the range includes Botmaskop, a red blend named after the peak above the farm. Both restaurants share the same view, and in summer their tables move out onto the terraces.

Wellness

The spa is set among the lodges and has treatment rooms, a relaxation area and its own pool, with the same outlook over the valley.

Location

The Helshoogte Pass road, the R310, climbs east from Stellenbosch towards Franschhoek, and the estate lies near the top of the pass, about ten minutes by car from the centre of Stellenbosch. Cape Town International Airport is roughly 40 minutes away. The wine routes of Stellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl are all close, and Franschhoek itself lies on the far side of the pass, down through the Banhoek valley and over the Groot Drakenstein road.

Stellenbosch itself, founded in 1679, is the second-oldest European settlement in South Africa, with Cape Dutch houses, oak-lined streets and a university that sets the rhythm of the town. The estate's height gives it a different climate from the valley floor: cooler nights, more wind and, in winter, snow on the peaks across the valley. As a luxury hotel in Stellenbosch, Delaire Graff is unusual in carrying a name better known on Bond Street than in the Winelands.