It is all about Chardonnay.

Going into the festive season, and our summer months, it is only right to mention the story and history behind the variety that is referred to as the ‘Queen’ of all grapes.

B.C (Before Chardonnay)

The South African wine industry has gone through many changes even over the last forty years, that doesn’t seem like that long ago but before the 1980’s the only white wine varieties found in the country were Chenin blanc and Crouchen blanc (Cape Riesling). South Africa was yet to get a hold of white grapes such as Sauvignon blanc or Chardonnay. That is until a group of winemakers, lead by Danie De Wet, intervened and conceived a plan to smuggle the Chardonnay vine into the country.

Teaming up with like-minded Chardonnay fans the group took cuttings of the Chardonnay vine from a vineyard in Burgundy, smuggled it into South Africa and propagated it on their respective farms.

A.C (After Chardonnay)

Today South African Chardonnay is renowned for its high quality and its remarkable ability to express the terroir or geographical location of South Africa’s wine regions. The wine is a staple on every wine list and in almost every home, made in every style from heavily oaked to unoaked.

Winemag.co.za have just released their Chardonnay Report for 2022 and the event consisted of 80 entries, from 59 different producers, where all the entries were blind tasted and rated out of 100 points. 40 of the wines scored over the 90 points on the 100-point rating system thus proving the quality of South African Chardonnay.

The Top Ten

·????????Backsberg – Smuggled Vines 2021 – 94 Points

·????????Delaire Graff – Summercourt 2021– 94 Points

·????????La Petite Ferme – Barrel Fermented 2021– 94 Points

·????????Oak Valley – Beneath the Clouds 2021– 94 Points

·????????Oak Valley – Groenlandberg 2021– 94 Points

·????????Constantia Uitsig- Reserve 2021– 93 Points

·????????Groot Constantia – 2021– 93 Points

·????????Le Motte – 2020– 93 Points

·????????Oak Valley – Tabula Rasa CY548 2020– 93 Points

·????????Waterford Estate – Single Vineyard 2019– 93 Points

These Ten Wines have and average price of R267, which is a testament to South Africa’s favourable quality to price ratio.

If you are looking for your summer sipper, I would recommend the Waterford Estate Single Vineyard Chardonnay from this list as it is a personal favourite of mine!

Keep up the great work Waterford Estate !

#winetasting #chardonnay #summer