The Towers near Darling is for sale.

Although traditionally part of the Swartland, Darling is now a demarcated wine district and home to its own wine route, including five wine cellars all of which benefit from the cool breezes off the Atlantic Ocean and the long hot summers to produce wines with concentrated flavour, depth and intensity.

The area has a long history that goes back, at least as far as the written records show, to at least 1701 when a permanent military outpost was established in the area. Carl Thunberg, a Swedish physician, visited Groene Kloof in 1772 which he described as a “considerable grazing farm belonging to the Company (Dutch East Indies Company), at a distance of eight hours journey from the Cape”. The Dutch East Indies Company in 1700 issued a contract to supply meat from the Cape - in this case to Henning Huising - because the land in the area was very fertile. Darling was formally established by decree in 1853.

Seeff Swartland is marketing a historical property known as The Towers, an 808 ha property between the vineyards of Alexanderfontein and Groote Post, 75 km from Cape Town and with views of Table Mountain, the Atlantic Ocean and the Swartland.

The owner of the property, Simon Steward, says The Towers was originally named Driepapenfontein, and was first owned by J van Reenen who with his brother built the manor house in early 1800. According to folklore, they bragged that they could do this within 100 days - and they did.

“This would explain why the walls of the main building are slightly out of synch. The next owner was Charles Duckitt, son of Groote Post owner Fred Duckitt and brother of Hildagonda, the famous cookbook author. It was during the early occupation by Charles that the name changed to The Towers as his wife did not like the existing name. Apparently (opinions vary) this new name refers to its very striking position on the high ridge of the Kapokberg.

“Charles Duckitt became a major breeder of Ayrshire dairy cows in the country and it was from The Towers that the Mallesons of Gauteng bought their initial stock. The Malleson brothers are first cousins of Di Steward (the other current owner), and supply Pretoria and Mamelodi as well as selected Woolworths stores. Before we bought The Towers in 1994, it was owned by Derek Holt, who bought the farm from Charles Duckitt and lived there from 1990 to 1994.”

Bordering the farm to the south is Groote Post, to the north and east are Alexanderfontein (Ormande) and Lanner Farm (Kumkani) owned by the Tullies, the Stewards’ daughter and son-in-law, who have won many South African and international awards. Doornfontein to the west is a recently established game farm. Darling Cellars, Cloof and Tukulu are also all members of the Darling ward and are close by. The Darling ward was established in recognition of the wines produced in the Darling area.

The Towers has 100 ha of ringfenced vineyards which have been sold to Charles Back of Fairview, as well as many stand-alone houses which can be rented out.

The farm is one of the main sources of wild flowers for the Darling Wild Flower Show in August each year, and is home to many indigenous/migrant birds and animals including guinea fowl, francolins, quails, lanner falcons, rock kestrels, Cape eagle owls, Klaasens cuckoos, blue cranes, spurwing geese, herons, canaries, bokmakeries and, as far as mammals are concerned, rooikat, Cape grysbok, porcupines, steenbok, Cape bat-eared foxes, rhebok, mongooses and Cape foxes.

Simon Mouton, MD of Seeff Swartland, says the oldest part of the 400 m2 thatched main house is more than 200 years old. It has a large swimming pool, and other buildings on the property include two three-bedroom houses, a long barn with a flat and three-roomed offices, as well as two converted labourer’s cottages, three labourer’s cottages, and many outbuildings.

“It has potential for a permanent or holiday living. You could plant vineyards as there are at least 24 ha of very high potential soil and 7 ha of medium to high potential soil. You could also establish a game farm, a sheep and/or cattle farm and/or a guest farm,” says Mouton.

Call Simon Mouton on 082 444 4074 or 022 487 3905, or email mouton@seeff.com.