Red Blend from the Hemel en Aarde now selling for R35
Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc.
Wonderful Chardonnay selection on offer.
5% discount on 6 bottle mixed case of Chardonnay purchased.
Cabriere Chardonnay/Pinot Noir
Buy 6 bottles of more and pay only R85 per bottle
Any Day is a Good Day for Chardonnay
With some
misunderstanding cleared and a few style adjustments made the reputation of
Chardonnay has been repaired and the signs are there that Chardonnay is in vogue
again with sales increasingly steadily the past ten months. This grape varietal
is celebrated bi-annually at De Wetshof with an impressive presentation relaying
the inspiring message about Chardonnay. Chardonnay is the fifth most widely
grown grape variety planted and found wherever wine is produced. With origins
in the southern region of Burgundy and a village named Chardonnay the varietal
was originally smuggled into South Africa by Danie de Wet and Jan Boland Coetzee
in a chocolate box in the early 1980s. This undisclosed endeavour led
surprisingly to the Vine Improvement Association fast tracking the improvement
of Chardonnay vine material through experimentation. Hemel-en-Aarde Chardonnay
and Pinot Noir specialist Hamilton Russell Vineyards also indulged in smuggling
in plantings of Chardonnay because of restrictive KWV wine management rules at
the time. This risk was well rewarded pioneering plantings of Chardonnay and
obviously Pinot Noir for which the Hemel-en-Aarde Area is now well
known.
Esteemed wine
journalist Andrew Jefford was the guest speaker at the 2014 Celebration of
Chardonnay and his speech emphasised the greatness of Chardonnay. Jefford feels
the great lesson of the Chardonnay revolution of the last thirty years is that
excess ambition in one’s approach to Chardonnay will be harshly punished. The
reason why ABC came to stand for Anything But Chardonnay was the showiness of
excessively ripe and heavily oaked Chardonnay. Jefford emphasised that the
skill in Chardonnay craftsmanship lies in restraint. This skill has obviously
been mastered by the Chardonnay producers of the Hemel-en-Aarde area judging by
the number of awards received continuously. Lovers of Chardonnay can opt for
the heavier, creamier flavours brought by barrel aging or the light freshness of
un-oaked Chardonnay. The factor of wooding or not wooding can make a huge
difference to its flavour and aroma. Vanilla, butter and coconut are all
indicators of oak maturation – a method favoured by the winemakers of
Hemel-en-Aarde. Bouchard Finlayson’s Peter Finlayson believes that a Chardonnay
character is best achieved through the compliment of maturing in French oak
barrels. Yet Finlayson also crafts a Chardonnay Sans Barrique. Sans Barrique
means that there was no barrel aging applied in the production of the wine,
making the wine not too dissimilar from a Sauvignon Blanc but with less green
flavours. The ripeness of the Chardonnay berries plays a role in that a less
ripe berry lends to greener apple flavours and very ripe fruit brings out fig
and pineapple flavours. Another well-received un-oaked Chardonnay is the
Felicité Chardonnay made by Gordon and Nadia Newton
Johnson. The local variety of
Chardonnays include those produced by Hamilton Russell Vineyards, Ataraxia,
Bouchard Finlayson, Newton Johnson, La Vierge, Sumaridge, Ataraxia, Domaine des
Dieux, Creation, Crystallum and Whalehaven. New Hemel-en-Aarde producer,
Restless River, recently joined the Chardonnay force and if you enjoy a wooded
Chardonnay you should waste no time to try a bottle of their finest. Tomorrow
is another Chardonnay. Frieda
Lloyd
