Cape Grace Reserve Chardonnay

Production –50 dozen /600 bottles

Colour: Pale straw.

Bouquet: Juicy lemon peel and fresh grapefruit are intertwined with almond meal and smokey/toasty notes from the oak. Lifted jasmine and white flowers.

Palate:Rich and textural, white nectarine, yellow peach with a tight acid/phenolic balance. Great length and persistence of fruit driven by concentrated fruit and phenolic weight.

Cellaring: Drinking beautifully now or will continue to develop if cellared, until 2025.

Harvest: The grapes were picked on 16th and 28th February.

Vinification: The grapes were picked early in the cool of the morning, then immediately whole bunch basket pressed. The juice was cold settled for two hours to remove heavy sediments and transferred to barriques which underwent wild fermentation. 60% new oak was used, regular battonage over 10 months. Bottled in December 2018.

Technical Data: Alc. 12.9% pH 3.31 TA 6.2 g/l

Vintage: Flowering and fruit set in October and November indicated fantastic yields and our loamy soils benefited from rains in December which promoted excellent growth and lush canopies. January and February were cool without the 40°C heat spikes and this assisted steady ripening, producing bright white acids, aromatics and good flavours. The slower ripening has resulted in superb whites with excellent flavour profiles and natural acidity. An outstanding white vintage with good yields.

Vintage Rating 9/10

Awards and Reviews:

95 Points – James Halliday Wine Companion, 9th July 2020

Hand picked, whole bunch pressed, wild fermented in French oak (60% new) from three coopers, no mlf, matured for 10 months. Has great intensity and length, especially on the finish and aftertaste. No reduction. 12.9%