SOUTH AFRICA, April – 9 As your palate and understanding of wine grow, so do your preferences. I have never been a fan of Chardonnay. No matter how much I learned at wine tastings, how rare or unique the Chardonnay was, or how many times I was told it’s the most-drank white wine globally, I always found it too heavy on the tongue, too oaky.
I know Chardonnay as a heavy white wine with a deep yellow color that leaves a slicked buttery feeling on your tongue. I prefer my white wines crisp, bright, and sippable by a pool or on a hot summer’s day. To my surprise, 24 hours into a week-long trip through the vineyards of South Africa, I was converted to a Chardonnay drinker.
South Africa’s wine tourism is unbeatable: beautiful weather, gorgeous mountainous scenery, and lots of excellent wines. South African winemakers are experimental and push the wine category in new directions; one such expression of this was the Chardonnay. With a warmer climate, deeply oaked and aged Chardonnays just don’t work. The Chardonnay we were able to taste was much lighter in color on the tongue, and the wooded characteristics added beautiful flavor and a little body.
Below are some of my favorite Chardonnays we had the opportunity to try:
- Vanilla Chardonnay — Weltevrede
Pale yellow in colour, light oak flavours with tropical fruit notes.
- Poet’s Prayer — Weltevrede
An exquisite, rare Chardonnay with notes of citrus and tropical fruit with a hint of vanilla and oak. Aged for 10 months in French oak barrels.
- The Site – De Westhof
Aromas of lime and vanilla with a nutty, creamy texture on the palate
- Stellenzicht Thunderstone
Lightly wooded, fruity, buttery and smooth
- Haute Cabriere Chardonnay Pinot Noir
Ripe zesty fruit with a full mouthfeel and medium golden colour
- The Eleanor
Oak, butter, nutty on the nose with a creamy finish. A special chardonnay.
- Babylonstoren Chardonnay
Subtle citrus fruit with oak and vanilla creaminess
- Rupert & Rothschild Baroness Nadine Chardonnay
Peach and vanilla with light butter and oak, lingering minerality. A delicate and elegant wine
South Africa is home to some incredible wines, and the key to wine tastings is to approach them with an open mind. You never know when you might be pleasantly surprised.
