Rolanie Lotz

The Climb

As winemaker and cellarmaster of Rhebokskloof Wine Estate, Lotz has held the same post since 2007. That kind of continuity matters in cellar work, where each season builds on the last and repetition is never identical. Nearly two decades in one place means the work is shaped by accumulated judgment: knowing when to push, when to hold back, and how to keep the larger structure in view while working through the details.

Today

At Rhebokskloof Wine Estate, the work sits in the balance between structure and nuance. As cellarmaster, Lotz is part of the sequence that carries wine from harvest to bottling, where texture, balance, and shape are made or lost. “It’s always exciting to see what each specific block brings to the blend in terms of characteristics and mouth-feel,” she says, and the line points to a practical attention to difference at block level, then to the discipline required to bring those differences into one finished wine. The same pressure shows up in the way Lotz talks about her own standards. “Since the start of my career, I have pushed myself incredibly hard and at times set unrealistically high standards.” In cellar terms, that reads as a refusal to leave things half-resolved: a working method built on revision, scrutiny, and the willingness to keep refining until the wine sits where it should.

Signature

Lotz’s signature wines include Black Marble Hill Syrah, Rhebokskloof Chenin Blanc 2019, Rhebokskloof Shiraz 2018, and Rhebokskloof Estate Shiraz 2011. Read together, they show range within a single estate vocabulary: Syrah at one end, Chenin Blanc at another, and Shiraz expressed across different vintages. The thread connecting them is not style drift, but a consistent handling of precision and place.

In Their Words “It’s always exciting to see what each specific block brings to the blend in terms of characteristics and mouth-feel.” “Since the start of my career, I have pushed myself incredibly hard and at times set unrealistically high standards.”

Recognition

Black Marble Hill Syrah is the estate’s flagship wine and shows immense depth and character each year. In that wine, the estate’s method is visible: sustained attention, consistency, and the ability to preserve depth without losing control.