Chardonnay is one of the most versatile grape varietals in the
world, as well as one of the most planted. This was the theme of the Hermanus
Wine Club and was presented by Reino Thiart from Whalehaven Wines.
The evening started off with a rosé from Whalehaven wines.
The winery is the third oldest in the Hemel en Aarde and had its
first vintage in 1994. The cellar is situated at the very beginning of the
Hermanus Wine route but the farm is situated in the Somerset West area, near
the Hottentots Holland Mountains.
It is a difficult area in which to grow grapes. The rosé is made from pinotage
and “the wine is made for itself, I don’t use the runoff to make my rosé”
states Reino.
Bouchard Finlayson Sans Barrique, the first and only unwooded chardonnay, sources its grapes from the Villiersdorp area.
Chardonnay is one of the most neutral of the varietals, and picks up the
flavours of barrels and soil very easily. “Chardonnay loves wood, they are best
friends.” It is difficult to make a Chardonnay that did not spend time in
barrels to have the same full bodied flavours and can become a “thin” wine if
not handled properly. “The Sans Barrique spent more time on the lees in order
to bulk up” says Reino.
Weltevrede Place of Rocks Chardonnay was the second wine of the evening. The
winery is in the Roberston region. The vineyard is planted where broken shale rocks
are found. There is marmalade on the nose and is intense and focused. The
acidity of the wine is mellower and is buttery, round and has fatness of a
Chardonnay which has spent time in barrels.
The two Chardonnays from Whalehaven Wines were done as a
vertical pairing. The 2012 Chardonnay was the first time that Reino had been
able to source wine from the Hemel en Aarde and he states that the grapes are
from the Upper Hemel en Aarde area. The previous
vintages’ grapes were sourced from the Elgin region. The two wines are vastly different, which goes to show that the climate
and soil does make a difference when it comes to wine. The 2011 Chardonnay is
more fruit driven than the 2012, and could spend more time in barrels. The
barrels for both wines were 50% new French oak where the 2011 spend 14 months
in barrels, the 2012 spend a total of eight months in barrels; otherwise “the
wood would've overwhelmed the wine”. The Elgin
sourced 2011 contained more fruit flavours, including that of pineapple, which
is rare in a Chardonnay. The 2012 has got more minerality and can be described
as burgandian in style. The 2012 Whalehaven Chardonnay will be released mid to end of
2014. Whalehaven has won a Taj Hotel Classic Wine trophy for the 2012 Chardonnay.
Sumsaré from the
Robertson area is the newest cellar in the line-up and is the only wild yeast Chardonnay. The wine opens up in the
glass, which indicates that it is a good idea to decant it. The bottles are
hand labelled and R2 from every bottle sold will be donated to the Wilderness
Foundation Rhino Protection Initiative to help protect rhinos from poaching.
The wild yeast is produced from the natural yeast found on the skin of the
grapes.
Durbanville Hills
Rhinofields Chardonnay was the final wine of the evening. The wine is well integrated with balance between the
fruit, barrel and lees contact. The wine is slightly sweeter as it was allowed
to hang longer on the vines and botrytis, found in Noble Late Harvest, started
to set in. The label is named after the Renosterveld fynbos which the winery is
conserving. The Rhinofields Chardonnay was one of the top 10 Chardonnays in the
World.
The Chardonnays on taste was from vastly different climates
as well as styles, which goes to show that Chardonnay is versatile but Reino
believes that “Chardonnay should be made in a style supportive of the grape.”
The next wine club will take place on Tuesday 3 June and the
theme is the wines from Kranskop. Guests are welcome to join for the evening at
R30 per person.
