Clay Shales Chardonnay
The Clay Shales Chardonnay is a single-vineyard wine from a site on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge that is ideally located in a mountain shadow, at high altitude and near the ocean. The wine is named after the Bokkeveld shale and clay soils on which it is grown, which combine to provide the perfect base for a balanced, Grand Cru-rivaling wine.
Latest release (2024)
A vivid, taut and complex vintage. White pear, litchi and butterscotch on the nose alongside a struck match smokiness, vanilla pod and elderflower. The palate is textured and weighty, with unctuosity from banoffee pie and lime cordial cut by a stony, grippy minerality and bright, energetic acidity. A standout expression of the now famous site.
Vinification
Whole-bunch pressed with no enzymes, SO2 or commercial yeasts added at pressing. After an overnight rough-settling, the juice was sent to barrel, with fermentation and ageing taking place over 10 months in a 2600L Foudre.
Technical Analysis
pH 3.17
alc% 13.22%
Total acidity 6.9 g/l
Total sulphites 75 mg/l
Residual sugar 4.3 g/l