“We’re inquisitive, we’re daring, we’re experimental, and I think that’s what I like. I like pushing the boundaries; I like bringing art into it as long as the final product is pure and beautiful.”
As the son of a Windhoek hotelier, John has always been interested in wine. He recalls attending the Nederburg Auction at the age of 10 with his father and loving every minute of it! After various adventures, John went off to Elsenburg at the age of 25 to study winemaking, applied himself fanatically, and graduated as the dux student. After working at Môreson in Franschhoek, De Wetshof in Robertson and Graham Beck’s Robertson cellar, in 2001 he was offered the position of cellarmaster at Steenberg and has never looked back.
John’s dream has always been to produce his own wine and this finally materialised in 2004 with Silverthorn Wines’ maiden vintage. Silverthorn is a boutique producer specialising in Cap Classique-style wines made from grapes grown on their family farm in Robertson and is managed and marketed by his wife Karen.
67% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir
Wine of Origin Western Cape
Big Dog Ten is made from Chardonnay grown on ancient shale and limestone soils dating back 400 million years. Chardonnay thrives on limestone, ensuring that the wine has amazing minerality and structure. This specific Chardonnay vineyard was planted in 1991 making it 33 years old, resulting in very low yield and intense concentration. 67% of the blend is barrel fermented to enhance richness and complexity. The wine spent 50 months on the lees, further accentuating the finesse.
Tasting Notes: Big Dog Ten is a rich and complex wine, made without compromising finesse and elegance. The nose has enticing roasted almond and marzipan notes from the Chardonnay and red apple from the Pinot Noir. This wine is immediately accessible but for maximum reward drink from 2026 onwards.
Winemaker: John Loubser
69% Chardonnay, 31% Pinot Noir
Wine of Origin Robertson
Tasting Notes: Big Dog IX is a rich and complex wine, made without compromising finesse and elegance. The nose has enticing roasted almond and marzipan notes from the Chardonnay, and red apple from the Pinot Noir.
For maximum reward and expression, drink from 2026 onwards.
Winemaker: John Loubser
71% Chardonnay, 29% Pinot Noir
Made in the traditional Cap Classique Method, both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were whole bunch harvested and pressed. The Chardonnay portion was barrel fermented and aged in old French oak barrels to enhance the complexity and richness, while the Pinot Noir was cold fermented in stainless steel tanks in order to accentuate the red apple characters. After blending, the wine was bottle fermented and aged on the lees for 52 months. The wine was aged on the cork for 9 months before the auction day.
Tasting Notes: Big Dog VIII is a rich and complex wine, made without compromising finesse and elegance. The nose has enticing roasted almond and marzipan notes from the Chardonnay and red apple from the Pinot Noir.
For maximum reward and expression drink from 2024 onwards.
Winemaker: John Loubser
74% Chardonnay, 26% Pinot Noir
Made in the traditional Cap Classique Method, both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were whole bunch harvested and pressed. The Chardonnay portion was barrel fermented and aged in old French oak to enhance the complexity and richness, while the Pinot Noir was cold fermented in stainless steel tanks in order to accentuate the berry characters. After blending, the wine was bottle fermented and aged on the lees for 52 months. The wine was aged on the cork for nine months before auction day.
Tasting Notes: Big Dog VII is a rich and complex Cap Classique, made without compromising finesse and elegance. The nose has enticing roasted almond and marzipan notes, supported by a succulent creamy palate.
For maximum reward and expression, drink from 2023 onwards.
Winemaker: John Loubser
70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir
Wine of Origin Robertson 
Made in the traditional Cap Classique method, both the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir were whole bunch harvested and pressed. The Chardonnay portion was barrel fermented and aged in old French oak to enhance complexity and richness, while the Pinot Noir was cold fermented in stainless steel to accentuate berry characters. After blending, the wine was bottle fermented and aged on the lees for 50 months. The wine was aged on the cork for nine months.
2020 saw Silverthorn Wines produce its first vintage in a specialised Cap Classique cellar on Silverthorn Farm.
Tasting Notes: Big Dog VI is a rich and complex Cap Classique, made without compromising finesse and elegance. The nose has enticing roasted almond and marzipan notes, supported by a succulent creamy palate.
For maximum reward and expression drink from 2022 onwards.
Winemaker: John Loubser
Made in the traditional Cap Classique method, both the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir grapes were whole bunch harvested and pressed. The Chardonnay portion was barrel fermented and aged in old French oak barrels to enhance the creaminess and complexity, while the Pinot Noir portion was cold fermented in stainless steel in order to accentuate the red apple characters. After blending, the wine was bottle fermented and aged on the lees for 50 months. The wine was aged on the cork for nine months.
Tasting Notes: The aim with Big Dog V is to create a rich and complex bubbly without compromising finesse and elegance. An enticing roasted almond, marzipan and cookie spice bouquet supported by a creamy palate.
Winemaker: John Loubser
Made in the traditional Cap Classique method, both the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes are whole bunch harvested and pressed. The Chardonnay portion is barrel fermented and aged in old French oak barrels to enhance the creaminess and complexity, while the Pinot Noir is cold fermented in stainless steel in order to accentuate the bright berry characters. After blending, the wine is bottle fermented and aged on the lees for 51 months. Post disgorging, the wine is aged on the cork for nine months.
Winemaker: John Loubser
Made in the traditional Cap Classique method, both the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes are whole bunch harvested and pressed. The Chardonnay portion is barrel fermented and aged in old French oak barrels to enhance the creaminess and complexity, while the Pinot Noir is cold fermented in a stainless steel tank in order to accentuate the bright berry characters. After blending, the wine is bottle fermented and aged on the lees for 52 months. Post disgorging the wine is aged on the cork for six months.
Winemaker: John Loubser
Both the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir were picked by hand and then gently whole bunch pressed. The Chardonnay juice was barrel fermented and aged in large old French oak barrels to enhance the creaminess and complexity and add palate weight. The Pinot Noir juice was tank fermented in order to accentuate the bright berry characters. After blending, the wine was bottle fermented and aged on the lees for 53 months. After disgorging the wine was aged for a further six months on the cork.
Winemaker: John Loubser
The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were both gently whole-bunch pressed. The Chardonnay juice was barrel fermented and aged in old French oak barrels in order to enhance creaminess and palate weight. The Pinot Noir juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks to accentuate the berry fruit characters. After blending, the wine was bottle fermented and spent 53 months on the lees before being disgorged and spending an extra 6 months on the cork.
Winemaker: John Loubser
The Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon are both new plantings that come off block 13A and 13B at Steenberg Vineyards respectively – they were harvested on the same day at 23.5 degrees balling and co-fermented in one large 500 litre third fill barrel (in a cold room). After 10 months of maturation, the wine was naturally fined and cold stabilised in the barrel and then bottled. Tasting Notes: Typical minerality derived from decomposed granite – complex tropical fruit supported by subtle oak nuances – perfect balance between structure and texture.
Winemaker: John Loubser
Harvested from the mother block of Nebbiolo in South Africa. Fermentation in tank with 2-3 pump overs per day – malolactic fermentation in barrel – aged in second fill French oak for 13 months – fined with egg white and bottled with minimum intervention. Tasting Notes: Typical light colour (due to low colour pigment) – black cherry and stewed rhubarb with hints of fennel and minerality – great tannin texture – elegant yet complex.
Winemaker: John Loubser
Long skin contact with cold fermentation in stainless steel tank. Maturation in 500 litre French oak barrels with long lees contact followed by careful blending and bottling. Tasting note: Wild and pungent with dense upfront fruit – powerful minerality and gun smoke with herbaceous notes. Rich, full and powerful palate – PURE SAUVIGNON! Drink now and over the next 5 years.
Winemaker: John Loubser
This wine is made from the best possible Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon that I could source. Both varieties were cold fermented in older French oak in order to capture maximum fruit. The wines were left on the lees for 8 weeks to enhance mouth-feel and then blended, stabilised and bottled. Tasting note: Wild and herbaceous with piercing mineral notes. Full vibrant palate, hints of passion fruit and tangerine elegantly balanced by subtle smokiness. This wine is a true reflection of cool terroir and will age wonderfully with careful cellaring.
Winemaker: John Loubser
This wine is made from our best Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon vineyards. The grapes are harvested at 3am by machine. The Sauvignon Blanc is treated reductively and undergoes a long cold fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The Semillon is barrel fermented in new French oak and left on the lees for 4 weeks. Tasting note: Wild and herbaceous with incredible mineral notes. Full, vibrant palate with sweet citrus characters coming from the Semillon portion. This wine is a true reflection of cool climate terroir and will benefit from careful cellaring.
Winemaker: John Loubser
This wine is made from our best Sauvignon and Semillon vineyards. The grapes were harvested at 3am by machine. The Sauvignon Blanc was treated reductively and underwent a long cold fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The Semillon was barrel fermented in new French oak and left on the lees for 4 weeks. After skillful blending, the wine was gently prepared for bottling. Tasting Notes Wild and herbaceous with incredible mineral notes – full vibrant palate with sweet citrus characters coming from the Semillon portion. This wine is a true reflection of cool climate terroir and will benefit from careful cellaring.
Winemaker: John Loubser
The grapes were harvested at 2am, crushed, destemmed and left on the skins for 6 hours. Fermented in 2nd and 3rd fill French oak at 14 degrees C and then left on the lees for 4 weeks. Fined, filtered and stabilised before being bottled. Tasting Note: Typical cool climate Sauvignon Blanc, strong mineral / flinty characters with subtle hints of barrel smokiness – fresh, austere, yet long palate with great complexity.
Winemaker: John Loubser
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