Are you over 18?
You must be over the legal drinking age in your country to view the content and products on this website.
You must be over the legal drinking age in your country to view the content and products on this website.
You must be over the legal drinking age in your country to view the content and products on this website.
You must be over the legal drinking age in your country to view the content and products on this website.
£22.00
Alcohol percentage: 13.5%
Vegan
Area:
Hemel-en-Aarde is the name of the valley above Hermanus. The larger region is called Walker Bay and Hamilton Russell were the people who made it famous – as a cool climate source of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, back when South Africa was only learning how to make wines of freshness and balance.
Grape variety:
Chardonnay, fermented (with natural yeasts) and matured half in steel and half in barrel, with only a very small proportion of new wood each year (7%).
Producer:
Founded by Dave Johnson and Felicity Newton (now Johnson) in 1995 and now run by sons, Bevan and Gordon. They have just under 20 hectares of land at 150-300m.
And to quote from their website:
“Southend is a single vineyard wine that lies in the shadow of the Babylonstoring Mountains in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and is owned and farmed by our neighbours, the Pringle family. It is a notably cooler slope, a stone’s throw across the river from us, with less sunshine and consequently slower ripening. It produces wines with sparkling clarity, high-toned fruit flavours, compact structure, and vibrant acidity. We preserve these features by fermenting in larger format casks that often ferment slowly in to the winter. This parcel takes a steely and light-footed point of difference from the other Chardonnay vineyards of our appellation.”
The Bottle Shop rating:
In modern style (not too oaky or heavy) but in no way lean or hard; this is proper Chardonnay, made with sensitivity.
£22.00
“I was a customer of the shop before I worked here. It’s the personal touch people come for. It’s what makes them come back.”