Winemaker Notes
An elegant golden color with green hues, this Chardonnay displays aromas of toasted brioche with zesty marmalade. A backbone of lime and lemongrass with floral notes of honeysuckle and frangipani materialize on the palate. Warm, rich vanilla and an almond nuance linger on the finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Opening with oaky expressions on the nose, the 2017 Reserve Chardonnay offers a slight herbal stemminess in the glass and a rich core of apples, pears and pineapple with floral aromas of citrus blossoms and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, it has a balanced structure and an elegant white spice that lifts the mid-palate with flavors of soft caramel tones and spiced apples. Concluding with a long and complex finish, the 840-case production shows excellent value.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
South Africa’s most famous wine-producing district, Stellenbosch, surrounds the historic town with the same name; fine winemaking here dates back to the late 1600s. Its valleys of granite, sandstone and alluvial loam soils between the towering blue-grey mountains of Stellenbosch, Simonsberg and Helderberg have the capacity to produce beautiful wines from many varieties. The climate is warm Mediterranean, tempered by the cool Atlantic air of nearby False Bay.
Perhaps most well-known for its Pinotage and Bordeaux blends, Stellenbosch also produces noteworthy wines from Syrah, Chenin blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. The district’s wards—Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch—all produce distinctive wines from vines with relatively low yields.