Wine of the Week 71: Celestina Agulhas White 2024

Celestina means “little celestial one”. “It was chosen late at night,” explains Caroline Rillema, “when the sky was pitch-black with the stars in the Milky Way hanging low like jewels above the earth. When you’re here in this beautiful landscape with its vast open sky, you get a celestial feeling… like the sky is yours.”

Celestina, a blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon, is Caroline’s passion project. Her name will already be familiar to many wine lovers as the proprietor of Caroline’s Fine Wine Cellar, one of Cape Town’s most respected fine wine retailers.

A life in wine

Although she grew up in Johannesburg, it was seven years at boarding school in Limpopo that instilled in her a love of country life. After matric, she completed a secretarial course, “which turned out not to be something I wanted to become,” she says.

While working shifts as a waitress, she became fascinated by the glamour of the five-star Carlton Hotel and secured a position as a wine waiter in its Three Ships restaurant. “It sparked my love of wine, food and hospitality in a city that was thriving on the diamond and gold trade, where entertaining on a grand scale was part of everyday life.”

Caroline began studying through the Cape Wine Academy and KWV courses. She later spent six years in wine retail before moving into marketing and public relations, joining Buitenverwachting in 1985 and later La Motte in 1991.

“I hankered to get back into retail, with its hundreds of wines to buy and sell, so I began exploring whether I could open a shop of my own. After an uphill battle, I managed to open my first shop in 1997. It was in Long Street, Cape Town. Five years later, I opened a second one at the V&A Waterfront. In 2027, Caroline’s Fine Wine Cellar will celebrate 30 years of retailing.”

Fulfilling a dream

During her years at Buitenverwachting, Caroline lived in a cottage high on Klein Constantia Road, overlooking vineyards, a dam and the blue of False Bay. “I always wanted to create something like that for myself, funds permitting,” she says.

In the early 2000s the opportunity arrived. She and her husband, Ray Kilian, visited Baardskeerdersbos in Agulhas at the invitation of a friend. He spoke enthusiastically about the value of property in the area. The combination of cool climate, ancient soils and proximity to the ocean convinced her of the area’s potential.

In 2003, Caroline and Ray purchased a 3.5-hectare property in Baardskeerdersbos, just eight kilometres from the sea. Two years later, they planted sauvignon blanc and semillon. The couple oversee the viticulture themselves and, in 2021 they added a boutique cellar. Its completion marked the realisation of yet another long-held dream.

“I wanted to close the circle,” explains Caroline of her decision to make the wine herself. Previously, the grapes were trucked to Black Oystercatcher, where Celestina was produced on her behalf. “We consider the owner, Dirk Human, to be a great friend now. I was well advised. If I hit a snag, I can call Dirk or his winemaker, Willem Pietersen, for help.”

While it continues to be a juggle, with both Caroline and Ray working full-time in their respective day jobs, “it’s all worth it,” says Caroline. “Tasting ripe grapes off the vine, seeing the full kissies arrive at the cellar and then the free-run juice pouring from the basket press.”

Celestina Agulhas White 2024

A blend of equal parts sauvignon blanc and semillon, fermented and matured respectively for nine months in seasoned French oak barrels and a 600L Manetti Tuscan clay amphora. If sauvignon could be starlight, this is it: snappy and crystalline, it lifts the palate with its mineral backbone, while the semillon weaves in notes of white stone fruit and lemony citrus. The finish is assuredly dry, with umami nuances of kelp and sea salt, drawing you back sip after sip.
Buy Now

Discover all of the Cape’s hidden gems – subscribe to our weekly newsletter.