Savour To Taste white wine suggestions
Capensis Chardonnay (South Africa’s premium Chardonnay)
Chardonnay is the most expressive and complex of all the international noble white varieties and its potential is unmatched throughout the world, particularly in South Africa.
South Africa’s Western Cape can be called both the oldest wine region of the New World and the newest wine region of the Old World. Capensis skilfully combines these two facets — the oldest and the newest — of Western Cape winemaking. It embodies the unparalleled quality that comes from old, gnarled vines planted in some of the oldest soils in the world, and it represents the young energy of a new generation of winemakers determined to make world-class wines with state-of-the-art techniques.
Capensis, meaning “from the Cape,” is a leader in bringing South Africa to the forefront as a world-class Chardonnay producer. The commitment to Chardonnay comes from the belief that the truly great vineyard sites around the world are revealed by only a few noble grape varieties.
South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope has long been known as ideal for grape growing. This winemaking history dates back more than three centuries, to the 1600s, when the vineyards supplied wine to Dutch East India Company ships en route to India. In the 1700s and early 1800s, South Africa was known for its Muscat-based Constantia dessert wines, which were coveted throughout Europe. Then came the late 1800s, when the root louse phylloxera obliterated South Africa’s vineyards, as it did vineyards elsewhere in the world. Unfortunately, the sites often were replanted with high-production, low-quality grape varieties.
With the end of apartheid in 1994 and the opening of the world export market, South Africa’s remarkable wine-growing potential slowly became better known outside the country. To realise this potential, viticulturists began researching and selecting the best grape varieties for each site’s soils and mesoclimate. In the search for the best Chardonnay sites, the focus of Capensis has been on the Stellenbosch, Overberg, and Robertson regions in the Western Cape. Philosophically, Capensis is not limited to these regions—the only limitation is the quality of the individual vineyard site.
The 2017 Capensis Western Cape Chardonnay is a culmination of five remarkable vineyards carefully selected with in the Western Cape region, each site has been carefully selected for it potential fruit and complex characteristic nature. In the wine cellarer the wine makes Graham Weerts treats each block specific harvested fruit in a different technique, fermenting each harvest in five driffrint fermentation vestals, amphora, concert egg, French oak barrels and porcelain and stainless steal tanks. Once the fermentation has been completed the five wines are then mirthfully blended to create an incredibly complex beautiful chardonnay. The 2017 Capensis Western Cape Chardonnay is a culmination of five remarkable vineyards – a balanced, layered, and complex expression of the region. Crafted to age gracefully and gain complexity over time, pure citrus and rich minerality drive the focused, world-class Chardonnay.
FIJNBOSCH ESTATE VINEYARD
fin-BOSCH
The Capensis estate vineyard, Fijnbosch, was named after the Dutch settlers’ term for the natural vegetation in the area—meaning “fine bush” or “fine woods.” The nearly 20 acres of Chardonnay are planted in clay soils on the high-elevation, steep terrain of the Groot Drakenstein mountains in the Banghoek Valley.
In the late 1980s, when certified Chardonnay clones became available in South Africa, the high-elevation Fijnbosch Vineyard was established in Stellenbosch. The granitic and sandstone soils offer good drainage for deep rooting, yet the clay content is high enough to provide water retention. Cool-favouring varieties, like Chardonnay, develop best when planted on sites at high elevations and in close proximity to the ocean. The Jackson family acquired the property in December 2014, after being extremely pleased with its contribution to the first two vintages of Capensis, 2013 and 2014.
The Fijnbosch Vineyard fruit brings refinement, structure and acidity to Capensis and lends pronounced citrus notes. This is the heart and soul of the wine, making up about half of the blend. This vineyard, which has very little irrigation, ripens from the mid- to late season. Elevation 1,729 feet / 527 meters with the vine age planted in 1999 and 2005 in the region of Stellenbosch. The soil has a rich, clay aspect to them and are north facing vines. The vines are trellis spur pruned and in a vertical shoot positioning
KAAIMANSGAT VINEYARD
kaya-MANS-got
Kaaimansgat, meaning “crocodile’s lair,” is the oldest, most isolated, and highest-elevation vineyard site in the Capensis blend. The erosion around the vines has revealed that many grow on their own rootstock, rather than having been grafted. Because this dry-farmed vineyard is exposed to extreme weather, even snow, the vines bud out late in the spring and are the last to be harvested, just before the rains.
The small crop, which struggles to ripen before winter sets in, gives intense minerality, purity of focus, and fine-textured length to the finish of Capensis Chardonnay.
Elevation 2,484 feet / 757 meters with the vine age planted in 1986 in the region of the Overberg. The soil have a granite aspect with east facing the vines have been set in a trellis sprawl system, spur pruned
E. BRUWER VINEYARD
ee-BREW-er
Rooted in blistered limestone soil, the 16 rows of vines in the E. Bruwer vineyard produce grapes that contribute rich texture to Capensis Chardonnay, as well as abundant notes of peach and other orchard fruits.
Because the site is warmer than the vineyards in Stellenbosch, Overberg or Klein Karoo, this vineyard is the first to achieve maturity. The vines are trained in a method typically referred to as single cordon sprawl, which suits the site, and are primarily budded to Clone 95.
Elevation 571 feet / 174 meters with the vine age planted in 2004 in the region of Robertson. The soil is Limestone (very rare in South Africa) aspect. The vines are in trellis sprawl system, spur pruned
NOOITGEDACHT VINEYARD
new-it-ge-DACT
Nooitgedacht, meaning “gratitude,” lies at the foothills of the Helderberg Mountains in the Stellenbosch region. The vines of the Nooitgedacht Vineyard thrive on granite rich soils and promote length, acidity, and elegance in the wine.
The Nooitgedacht Vineyard overlooks False Bay and is situated in such a way that on a clear day you can see Table Mountain in the distance. Elevation 938 feet / 286 meters with the vine age planted in 1997 in the region of Stellenbosch. The soil is weathered Granite aspect with north-northwest facing wines. The vines are in a trellis spur system pruned in a vertical shoot positioning
VLEIPLAAS VINEYARD
flay-pl(ah)s
Located in the western reaches of the Klein Karoo region lies the Vleiplaas vineyard, meaning “marsh farm”. A stream, that has never run dry runs alongside the vineyard and provides a moderating effect to the vines during the heat of the summer months. These vines, planted to shale and alluvial soils, accentuate pure, elegant fruit and a depth of minerality. Elevation 1,312 feet / 400 meters with the vine age planted in 2004 with in the region of Klein Karoo. The soil Karoo Shale, alluvial soils aspect the vines are level, with no aspect in a trellis spur system pruned in a vertical shoot positioning
The Sadie Family, Mev Kirsten Chenin Blanc
Chenin Blanc is grown predominantly in the Loire Valley in France but has become the signature grape of South Africa. As Chenin blanc is the most planted vine in South Africa. This versatile white grape variety lends itself to many styles of wine: sweet, dry, oak-aged and sparkling. It generally produces a fresh, fruity wine with notes of peach, nuts and sometimes honey. Its hallmark is a refreshing acidity.
The rarest Chenin blanc vine of all is the wine in the Sadie Family Old Vine Series, and the only wine wine maker Eben Sadie makes from Stellenbosch. Pulling the cork on a Sadie wine is a near religious affair now days. The late Mrs Kirsten owned a tiny 1ha block of Chenin Blanc, planted between 1905 and 1920, and is now regarded as the oldest Chenin Blanc vineyard in South Africa.
Based in the Jonkershoek Valley at the foot of the Bothamaskop Mountain, this nearly one hundred-year-old vineyard is slowly dying. Eben has worked with the site for 10 years and nurtures it as carefully as he can but inevitably losing some old vines each year, which are carefully replanted to ensure the rejuvenation of the overall vineyard.
Eben picks early to preserve the fine natural Chenin acidity and then gives the grapes a gentle, but unusual, carbonic maceration to extract richness and oxygen defying compounds, but then ferments the wine conventionally.
Tasting Note: Medium straw yellow colour, the nose is effusive with rich honied, pithy orange peel, taught minerality, tangerine peel, peach skins and pithy lemon citrus. Subtle pineapple and waxy, incense laden exotism make this an expansive, complex wine. Medium to full bodied, this profound wine is so rich and textural and intensely focused with fresh acids and wonderful honey suckle, orange peel nuances, and a beautiful chalky mineral wet slate touch.
The finish is so long and elegantly powerful, regal, statesmanlike. A wine that challenges your palate, provokes discussion, and inspires your senses. A truly epic once in a lifetime wine experience.
The Sadie Familly, Palladius
The 11 different grapes varieties : Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanche , Viognier, Verdelho, Roussanne, Marsanne, Semillon Gris, Semillon Blanc and Palomino, Colombard
The vines grown on three main soil types in the Paardeberg: granite, gravel & sandstone. The grapes are pressed and run off into clay amphorae & concrete eggs, where they are vinified and then aged for 12 months. The wine then spends another 12 months in old oak foudres.
It creates a savoury, pithy, waxy and saline blend, with vibrant acidity and great balance. There's some textural grip to the green apple, honey and pink grapefruit palate.
This 2016 vintage of Palladius has the simplicity of minimalistic design with nothing that shouts out and every one of the 11 varietals that drive this wine just seems to be in perfect synchronisation.
The aromas are a journey of more tropical, ripe fruit aspects going all the way to a very saline and mineral texture. The most exciting aspect of this 2016 vintage is simply the length and the persistence of the tannin on the palate.
This wine spends its first year of ageing in clay amphorae and in concrete eggs and then an additional year of ageing of the final blend in big oak casks.
The result is incredible stability and the wine leaves one with the clear impression that the Palladius is on the very same level as the Columella and they can truly run together as Signatures
Boekenhoutskloof, Sémillonis
This Sémillonis made from Certified Heritage Vineyards, which count amongst the oldest in South Africa. These Franschhoek Sémillon vineyards have acclimated to the harsh conditions and alluvial soils in which they grow, producing unique wines with intense depth and complexity. These old vineyards' deep root systems and high skin-to-pulp ratio produce intensely complex, well-structured wines with unbelievable ageing potential.
Two of the vineyards used for our Sémillon, planted in 1902 and 1942, are unirrigated bush vines, growing on little to no slope in the ancient Franschhoek Riverbed.
These vineyards are well established on alluvial soils with a high loam content. The third vineyard, planted in 1936, is located further up the valley, on a 45-degree south-facing slope, on decomposed granite and quartz. Some of the vines within these vineyards have naturally mutated from Sémillon to Sémillon Gris, which has a slight red hue and higher skin-to-pulp ratio. The Sémillon Gris vines naturally require more ripening time and are only harvested during a second picking. They opted to use a small portion of historic Muscat d'Alexandrie, planted in 1902, to enhance the wine's aromatic character.
The old vines benefited well from the generally wet weather conditions and low evening temperatures throughout the 2020 growing season. With good vegetative growth and lush canopies, the Sémillon ripened slowly and evenly, which contributes to the approachable nature of the vintage along with an enticing minerality.
Grapes were whole bunch pressed and spontaneously fermented in 225L classic barriques and concrete eggs. Maturation occurs at low temperatures, without sulphur additions, for 14 months: 70% in new French Oak barriques and 30% in concrete eggs. This oxidative approach at low temperatures enables us to enhance our old vine Sémillon textural elements, creating exceptional structure in a wine that can certainly stand the test of time.
The Muscat d'Alexandrie was skin-fermented and matured in clay amphora.
The nose is upfront, fresh and inviting, with aromas of mandarin orange, tangerine peel, pineapple and fragrant blossoms and gentle whiffs of angelica, lemon verbena, nettles and spicy oak nuances all adding intensity to the citrus character. Layers of vibrant, pure flavours of kumquat, grenadilla, yellow apple and preserved lemon dominate a lively and complex mid-palate.
The slightly savoury, spicy character of the nose follows through with hints of chamomile, marmalade, and beeswax. The wine is fleshy, full, and textured, yet zesty, elegant and balanced, with a beautiful salinity lingering on a pure, taut, slightly pithy finish.
Waterford Estate Chardonnay
This Chardonnay vineyard was planted in 1988 and registered as single vineyard in 2012, which ensures that the traceability of the wine produced is exclusively to the original 5.8-hectare block. Soils are comprised of red clay (Hutton) as well as large granite deposits and parent material found throughout the clay profile. The clay adds structure to the wine, while the granite produces great minerality and finesse to the overall presentation. The 2019 vintage shows slightly richer and a fuller complexity on the palate compared to the previous vintage.
Our Waterford Single Vineyard spent 11 months in 100% French Oak Barrels, of which 15% was new. The grapes was whole bunch pressed and barrel fermented, with bâtonnage for 3 months. With the 2019 vintage they did minimal Malolactic fermentation, instead opting for freshness, as the wine had great texture.
A bright and vibrant olive-green hue on this single vineyard Chardonnay. The aromatics of this wine are driven by fresh peach pip, lime and a light touch of oak from barrel fermentation and ageing. The older vines still prove to produce lovely restrained, tightly structured wines that are rather perfumed when young, but develop beautifully during bottle maturation.
No additions other than sulphur with only 2526 bottles made each year.
Ken Forrester FMC Chenin Blanc
Ken Forrester formally known as Mr Chenin helped make South African Chenin Blanc famous South Africa’s ‘Mr Chenin’ is a flag bearer for a grape once seen as a mere workhorse in the Cape
Today Cape Chenin Blanc stands proudly alongside the world’s best, with Ken Forrester wines regularly at the forefront. at this year’s DWWA. Ken Forrester Vineyards is renowned for producing wines that have received international acclaim and numerous awards, including the world’s top Chenin Blanc at the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards for the 2021 Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc.
At the 2023 Wine Harvest Commemorative Event this February, Ken Forrester himself was recognised for his visionary leadership in the South African wine industry with the 1659 Visionary Leadership Award. This annual event, celebrated during the SA wine industry’s birthday month, recognises individuals and organisations for their exceptional contributions.
Ken has become known for his dedication to Chenin Blanc, which he has been championing since 1993. Despite being advised to uproot an old Chenin vineyard and plant Pinotage or Chardonnay, he decided to give the varietal a chance. With the help of top winemaker and friend Martin Meinert, Ken set out to produce Chenin Blanc that could rival any white wine in the world.
The FMC Chenin Blanc is definitely one of the top Chenin Blancs from South Africa and easily holds its own with the best white wines in the world. This Chenin Blanc puts South Africa final on the map even for 'New World critics'. The pure-bred FMC Chenin Blanc is full-bodied and powerful despite its elegance. The wide range of flavours ranges from dried apricot and vanilla to honey. Only the very best grapes from the winery are used fruit is picked in 11-14 passes through the vineyard, which was planted in 1970 to make this white wine.
The grapes were harvested and sorted by hand exclusively at ideal ripeness. In the cellar, the fermentation the fruit is barrel fermented, and the process takes place only with naturally occurring "wild yeast” in 400 litter oak barrels spending 12 months in French barrique with, around 40% new oak. No sulphites are added until after primary fermentation has finished, when the wine is moved to tank, the barrels are cleaned and then the wine goes back in: malolactic is avoided. There’s a little bit of sweetness which comes from any barrels that stick, and which are then marked and used to blend to the right sugar level (this can range from 5-12 g/litre).
Powerful and expressive with lovely pear, apricot and peach fruit, as well as some spicy notes and a hint of honey, as well as just a little sweetness. Very expressive.
Springfield Estate Method Ancient Chardonnay
Springfield Method Ancient Chardonnay is a barrel-aged white wine made with the Chardonnay variety by Springfield Estate, a winery in Western Cape South Coast, Western Cape (South Africa).
Owned by the Bruwer family, it is run by the fourth generation of producers and the ninth generation of French Huguenots who arrived in South Africa in 1688 with Loire Valley vines in hand. Taking into account the unique characteristics of the rocky soils that the Robertson valley is full of, the Bruwer's have managed to extract the maximum expression of the terroir with top quality grapes and making their wines in a Burgundy style.
Springfield Method Ancient Chardonnay comes from vines aged over 25 years old. These are strains planted in soils with chalk and limestone formations and with a total yield of 2.5 tons per hectare. Traditional viticulture is practiced and the harvest is carried out at night to maintain the grapes’ freshness until they reach the winery.
When the Springfield Method Ancient Chardonnay grapes reach the winery, they ferment without contact with the skins and with native yeasts for 55 days. They are then placed into 600-litre French oak barrels for 12 months; 50% in new barrels and the other 50% in second-year barrels. Once the wine is ready, it is bottled without being filtered, refined or stabilised.
Springfield Method Ancient Chardonnay is a classic style white wine that is comparable to the most seductive Burgundy, where the full splendour of the fruit is revealed, balanced with just the right amount of wood. Thus, a wine of distinctive and classical character, it will develop slowly and is made to last a lifetime. Deep intense straw yellow with golden tears. Wide mineral nose attack full of white stone fruit, exotic notes of pineapple and citrus, fennel seed and vanilla. Wonderfully balanced flavour with a playful game between acidity, alcohol and extremely fine touch of wood. Almost unctuous in the very long mineral finish with pointed citrus bitter.
Kleine Zalze’s The Family Reserve Chenin Blanc 2022
A census done in 1692, shows that Nicolaas Cleef had been settled on a farm known as de Groote Zalze, just outside Stellenbosch on the banks of the Blaauwklippen river since 1683.
Cleef was born in Grosszalze, Germany and married Barbara Lefevre, a Huguenot refugee of Fleurbaix, Belgium in 1684. By 1692, they had a family with a daughter and a son and had planted 7 000 vines on de Groote Zalze. In 1695, Simon van der Stel granted Cleef ownership (freehold title) of the 57 morgen of land that he had cleared and cultivated for 12 years.
Today, 18 morgen of this grant is within the boundaries of the subdivided section known as Kleine Zalze, adjoining another section taken from a subsequent (1818) grant to de Groote Zalze’s owners.
Nicolaas Cleef died in 1708 and his widow Barbara and their children Anna Catherina and Jochem, continued farming. Anna Catherina married Hans Jacob Conterman, whose family name was Grundermann (until his arrival in the Cape in 1796). Conterman, arrived at the Cape as a soldier but was soon freed from his obligations and registered as a burger.
More recently, Kobus Basson and his family acquired the property in 1996 and proceeded to renovate the cellar and replant the vineyards to build the modern-day Kleine Zalze.
In September 2022 ownership passed to AdVin a world renowned French wine company, starting a new chapter for Kleine Zalze Wines.
Kleine Zalze philosophy is simple: success begins in the vineyards. Exceptional wines are made possible by selecting varieties and clones specifically suited to the various soils and slopes, and further careful management of the farm’s extensive natural assets.
This continuous attention to detail culminated in Kleine Zalze achieving new heights in 2020 and being named Top Performing Winery of the Year by Platter’s South African wine guide, arguably the most comprehensive guide to South African wine in the world.
More recently, Kleine Zalze won four Double Golds and the Best Achiever award at the highly acclaimed Veritas Awards 2022.
The Family Reserve Chenin Blanc 2022 was crafted from three different wards and soils (Decomposed Granite, Oakleaf and Duplex) in Stellenbosch, each contributing to the complexity of the wine.
2022 is also the first vintage of Family Reserve to be certified as made from Heritage Vineyards. The canopy of the bush vines was suckered and tipped to ensure a cool microclimate around the bunches with no direct sun and without botrytis. Due to a cool, wet spring, budding was seven to 14 days later than usual, but consistently good and even, promising a great vintage.
The grapes were picked separately between 21 and 23°balling, reductively crushed and the resulting juice given 12 -18 hours skin contact prior to settling. After only 1 day of settling, the slightly turbid juice was racked off its gross lees to a stainless-steel tank where it was inoculated with selected slow fermenting yeast strains.
The juice was then gravity fed into 400l French oak barrels and 2 x 500l Italian Terracotta Amphora and, for the first time at Kleine Zalze, concrete eggs for fermentation. No new oak was used to preserve the delicate flavours of Chenin blanc. The wine spent an extra 8 months on the lees in the respective fermentation vessels, with no fining or filtration before bottling.
Only the very best Chenin blanc is selected for this wine. Focus is placed on blending components that are not necessarily obviously pungent and fruity, but rather those that are intensely and elegantly structured, promising fantastic ageability. White peach with bursts of citrus pith. Understated power with mineral finish on the palate and a delicate floral perfume.
Waterkloof Sauvignon Blanc
Waterkloof estate is settled on the Schapenberg (Afikaans for ‘Sheep Mountain’) nestles almost in the centre of the embrace of the Hottentots-Holland and Helderberg mountains. Its highest point is 300 metres above sea level and a scant four kilometres from the False Bay coast.
It used to be the hill where former Cape Colony Governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel grazed his sheep, but it was also his lookout post to identify visiting ships, allowing him to race into town and sell his produce before the competition could. These days however, more and more vineyards are being planted in the area, already known as being the coolest in the Stellenbosch wine growing region.
This elegant and vibrant Sauvignon Blanc bursts with notes of lime and gooseberries, with hints of blackcurrant and fennel on the nose. The palate shows a lovely brightness and distinct notes of lemon and lime on the palate - true to the Schapenberg terrior.
Hand-picked and hand-sorted then whole bunch pressed for purest juice. The wine is wild yeast ferment in old 600l French oak barrels 14 months on lees without stirring
No additions other than sulphur with only 2526 bottles made each year.
Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay
Hamilton Russell Vineyards is a producer in the Hemel-en-Aarde ( Heaven on Earth) region of South Africa. The estate is known for its elegant, structured Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines made just 2 miles (3km) from the Atlantic Ocean, in one of South Africa's coolest wine-growing regions.
Founder Tim Hamilton-Russell, a retired advertising executive, founded his pioneering estate in 1975, and was the first in the country to try cool-climate winemaking this close to the coast.
"Lower in alcohol than the 2019 release - the vintage was cooler, explains Emul Ross - this nuanced Chardonnay combines grapes from 22 different blocks on the farm and confirms the wines status as one of the best examples in the Cape. Focused and saline, with subtle notes of struck match reduction, fine oak and some texture from 10% malolactic. Aged for 9 months in French oak barrels this wine scored a might 96 point.
A tight, mineral wine with classic Hamilton Russell Vineyards length and complexity. Prominent pear and lime fruit aromas and flavours are brought beautifully into focus by a tight line of bright natural acid and a long, dry minerality. An elegant, yet textured and intense wine with a strong personality of both place and vintage.