Chardonnay, you’re golden!
Even though there’s a nip in the air, and most people are reaching for voluptuous reds, there’s something wonderfully cockle-warming about enjoying a glass or two of chardonnay beside a fire on a blustery winter’s evening. And with International Chardonnay Day on 25 May, we’ve taken the opportunity to shout about this proudly South African varietal.
Which are your favourites? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
At home anywhere
Chardonnay, the queen of white grapes, was first crushed in the Middle Ages. Since then, it has gone on to conquer the world, aided by the fact that it travels well (unlike its Burgundian contemporary, pinot). Chardonnay can grow anywhere, from the chalky Kimmeridgian soils of its original home all the way down to the tip of Africa.
Famous for making some of the world’s greatest, most long-lived wines, chardonnay’s very ubiquity is likewise responsible for its somewhat tarnished reputation. Its malleability to winemaking techniques (oak, lees stirring) saw its detractors (known as ABCs: Anything But Chardonnay) bemoaning its creamy, high-alcohol and new-oak-flavoured profile in the 1980s.
The winemaker’s grape
It’s easy to see how the winemaking hand slips. Chardonnay loves to be made. Often referred to as the “winemaker’s grape”, it is neutral in expression – in comparison to, say, sauvignon blanc’s exuberant aromatics. Its flavours need to be coaxed out and framed. When done right, the marriage of bright citrus and well-judged oak is a thing of harmonious beauty.
Much of the joy lies in the texture that can be achieved by barrel fermentation and maturation, malolactic conversion and degrees of lees contact. The resulting structure and inherent high acidity of the variety mean chardonnay should become more complex as it ages. That’s not to say it doesn’t respond to where it’s grown. Cooler climes produce steelier, white-fruited versions, and as the region warms, so does the citrus rainbow, waxing into oranges and becoming more tropical and buoyant.
International accolades
Freed from the yoke of being “over-made”, South African chardonnays are increasingly garnering worldwide attention. Stellenbosch’s Jordan Wine Estate was awarded the coveted 2022 International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) White Wine Producer Trophy for the Nine Yards Chardonnay 2020, beating all other international competitors. Likewise, earlier in the year, De Wetshof Bateleur Chardonnay 2020 was one of just five South African wines to receive Platinum status at the Decanter Awards. A fitting achievement for the house that pioneered the grape in Africa in the first place.
Early pioneers
De Wetshof is located in Robertson, the only Cape region with significant deposits of limestone (aka the sea fossils the grape loves to grow on). Frustrated by the slow turn of bureaucracy, patriarch Danie de Wet – along with winemaking friends like Jan Boland Coetzee – were responsible for smuggling in the first Burgundian clones of chardonnay by stitching plant material into the lining of jackets, and hiding it in nappies and boxes of chocolate.
Danie’s son Johann, who has now picked up the baton, enthuses: “Many of our wines can match Burgundy, but the overarching factor for us is a sunny brightness that allows the myriad flavours to shine in the foreground, while structure and texture ensure the experience of these is one of lasting happiness.”
Having a moment
Currently, chenin still dominates the national vineyard, and will most likely continue to do so. Chardonnay slots in at number seven. Still relatively unknown abroad, chenin is largely the go-to on hip winelists and the favourite of geeky sommeliers. And while South African chenin is distinct and widely hailed by critics, it doesn’t cross borders as well as our instantly recognisable chardonnay, and has yet to enter the global consciousness.
As the prices of Burgundy wines skyrocket, they have become unaffordable to most, effectively widening the market. This is where we step in…South Africa offers quality and relative value in comparison. Blurring the lines between the Old and New World, our chardonnays are capable of delivering elegance – with that certain something extra imbued by our sunshine. Make no mistake, Cape chardonnay is having a moment!
A DOZEN MIGHTY CHARDONNAYS
Fall in love with this wine all over again with our top picks.
De Wetshof Bateleur Chardonnay 2020
This elegant wine hails from those original smuggled Burgundian clones planted in 1987. As classic as French linen and just as delicately textured, unspooling white citrus, creamed pears and fresh green apples, dusted in toast and spice from judicious oaking. Cool lemony fruit is wrapped in gossamer swirls from regular bâtonnage, a richness deftly sculpted by precise, limestone-driven acidity. Hazelnuts bloom on the back palate, run through with rivets of waxy honey tapering into a pear-citrus finish. Refreshing yet with unmistakable gravitas.
Haute Cabrière Chardonnay Réserve 2021
Founder of this family-run estate, Achim von Arnim played a pivotal role in the story of chardonnay. Great friends with Danie de Wet, he procured Robertson chardonnay to produce Franschhoek’s first-ever cap classique. Since then, chardonnay has long been tinkered with here, and the HC Chardonnay Pinot Noir still blend has become a household name. The estate has just released the maiden vintage of the Chardonnay Réserve to further underscore its commitment to the varietal. Light on its feet, this pithy wine extols lemon-lime peels, zesty and fresh-cut citrus and grapefruit zing cosseted in notes of spice and praline from eight months of oak maturation.
Leeu Passant Stellenbosch Chardonnay 2020
Old meets new with the Leeu Passant range by winemakers Chris and Andrea Mullineux (and investor Analjit Singh), inspired by the Cape’s classic mid-century bottlings. This chardonnay hails from a special site on Helderberg Mountain at 410 metres above sea level. It has all the gravitas of an old Cape chardonnay, with a defined texture and sunshiny stone fruit. Beautifully balanced, with a striking saline acidity and a sea-breeze freshness, evoking limes and crushed rock.