Silverthorn Wines

John Loubser's path to wine ran through the diamond fields. Before he became one of South Africa's most celebrated sparkling wine producers, he worked as a diamond diver — a detail that says something about his temperament: patient, meticulous, willing to search for the exceptional among the ordinary.

The wine world claimed him eventually. Loubser trained and worked at some of the Cape's finest cellars — Moreson in Franschhoek, De Wetshof in Robertson, and Graham Beck's Robertson cellar — before being appointed cellarmaster at Steenberg in Constantia in 2001. It was at Steenberg that he won the prestigious Diners Club Winemaker of the Year award in 2003 and was inducted into the Cape Winemakers Guild in December 2004. But all along, his dream was to produce his own wine.

That dream materialised in 2004 when Loubser and his wife Karen made their maiden vintage from Chardonnay grapes grown on their small family farm along the R317 in Robertson. They called it Silverthorn, and the first wine — just 3,500 bottles of a Blanc de Blancs Cap Classique christened The Green Man — was made under contract at Steenberg. When it was released in 2006, it set a new benchmark for South African Blanc de Blancs.

Loubser left Steenberg in 2017 to devote himself to Silverthorn full-time, and production has since grown to around 38,000 bottles per year. The entire focus remains on Methode Cap Classique — South Africa's answer to Champagne — crafted from estate-grown Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the Robertson Valley. The wine names draw on myth and whimsy: The Green Man, an ancient symbol of the forest spirit; The Jewel Box, celebrating what the Loubsers call 'Afropean synergy' — Old World technique meeting New World terroir; and the award-winning range that has positioned Silverthorn as one of the country's preeminent MCC producers.

The farm itself sits in a quiet stretch of the R317 east of Robertson town, framed by the Langeberg Mountains and irrigated by the Breede River. Vineyard views extend across the valley floor, with mountain silhouettes providing the backdrop. It is unmistakably a boutique operation: Karen manages marketing and sales, John makes the wine, and every bottle passes through their hands.

Visiting Silverthorn is an intimate, personal experience — far removed from the scale of the valley's cooperatives. Tastings take place on the farm with views over the vineyards and mountains, and the Loubsers are often present to share the stories behind each cuvee. The estate also carries a small selection of still wines including Shiraz and Port, but Cap Classique is the heart and soul of everything here. For lovers of South African sparkling wine, Silverthorn is a pilgrimage.