Winemaker Notes
This Chardonnay has aromas of yellow stone fruits with hints of cloves. The textured palate has notes of peaches and lemon curd, with a touch of salinity and well-integrated oak character, all balanced by a zesty acidity. The finish is long, with a beautiful purity.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Leeu Passant Stellenbosch Chardonnay is instantly impressive with seductive oak tones that sway with just-ripe Meyer lemon aromas, yellow apple and popcorn kernel. Medium-bodied, the Chardonnay explodes on the palate with bright, energetic acidity followed by flavors of lemon pastry cream, buttered popcorn and candied citrus. The wine continues to unfold for more than a minute before concluding with a long, persistent finish that is sure to deliver pleasure for years to come. Give it a try; it’s delightful!
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.