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