Michael Malan

The Climb

Cellarmaster work at Simonsig Wine Estate in Stellenbosch is built on continuity here: the cellar, the vineyards, the tasting room, and the estate itself all sit inside Michael Malan’s working history. In 2023, he moved into the top cellar role after years spent in the estate’s own daily rhythm, so the shift was less a handover from outside than a continuation of knowledge already in place. By then, the blocks and corners he was now responsible for were not new terrain; they were familiar ground, now requiring a finer read.

Today

Since 2023, Michael Malan has served as cellarmaster at Simonsig Wine Estate in Stellenbosch. The position follows directly from his years as red winemaker, and that sequence matters: the same estate, the same vineyards, and a deeper brief inside the cellar. The work carries no reset, only added responsibility. The cellar programme under his care includes four ranges at the estate: The Garland, The Malan Family Selection, Cap Classique, and Cultivar. Alongside his specialty in red wines, those ranges show the span of the job he now holds. It asks for range, not just repetition; for decisions that hold the estate’s identity across different styles. Vineyard attention remains central to that approach. Malan’s method is to know each block closely enough to take its cue into the cellar without flattening it. The discipline is straightforward: work the land, study the grapes, and let that knowledge shape the wine.

Signature

Michael's signature wines include The Garland, The Malan Family Selection, Cap Classique, Cultivar, and Langbult Steen.

In Their Words “I spent 2018 working in the vineyards, getting to know each and every block, something a winemaker needs if he or she is going to do justice to those grapes by turning them into wine.” “It was in this environment I decided, right, this is it. Hello winemaking and goodbye engineering.”

Recognition

The key mark in Malan’s record came in 2023, when he moved from red winemaker to cellarmaster at the same Stellenbosch estate. That appointment reflects a progression rooted in proximity to the farm from childhood, then in hands-on responsibility for its red wines. His path is concentrated rather than scattered: early life around the estate, red winemaker from 2017 to 2023, then cellarmaster from 2023 onward. The recognition sits in the role itself — stewardship of the cellar and of four named ranges from a place he has known since childhood.