Two beauties from Delaire Graff star in Winemag’s Chardonnay Report
THE ODDS are stacked in favour of the top-rated Chardonnay in SA Winemag’s 2020 Prescient Report coming from either Elgin or Stellenbosch. The announcement of who and what got the nod was put on hold until an awards function at the end of the year, but of the Top 10 we’re told that four are from Elgin and five are from Stellenbosch – including two from Delaire Graff (pictured) alongside the Helshoogte Pass.
On the tasting bench were 87 wines from 66 producers based in various parts of the Cape winelands. The panel of judges comprised Winemag’s Christian Eedes (chair) with Roland Peens and James Pietersen, both of the Cape Town fine wine merchant Wine Cellar.
Eedes reckons that what constitutes a good Chardonnay is hard to define. “It can vary in colour from very pale to pronounced straw-yellow, while it can be steely dry to rather rich and full on the palate. Flavours are often subtle and understated and yet beguiling,” he says. “Some producers aim to make a Chardonnay that is lighter in body and higher in acidity, while others are gunning for something richer and fuller – both are entirely legitimate in principle.”
As Pietersen observed: “It’s no longer sufficient to be merely technically correct. I’m looking for wines of personality, of intrigue, of place.”
WINEMAG TOP 10
Almenkerk Chardonnay 2018
R240pb ex-cellar, Elgin
Delaire Graff Summercourt Chardonnay 2019
R185pb ex-cellar, Banghoek, Stellenbosch
Delaire Graff Terraced Block Reserve Chardonnay 2018
R785pb ex-cellar, Banghoek, Stellenbosch
La Vierge Jezebelle Chardonnay 2019
R150pb ex-cellar, Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge
Meerlust Chardonnay 2019
R265pb ex-cellar, Faure, Stellenbosch
Oak Valley Groenlandberg Chardonnay 2019
R255pb ex-cellar, Elgin
Paul Cluver Seven Flags Chardonnay 2018
R800pb ex-cellar, Elgin
Stellenbosch Reserve Moederkerk Chardonnay 2019
R135pb from Guardian Peak cellar, Helderberg, Stellenbosch
Sutherland Chardonnay 2018 (WO Elgin)
R155pb from Thelema cellar, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch
Tokara Reserve Collection Stellenbosch Chardonnay 2019
R210pb ex-cellar, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch
On the 2020 Prescient Chardonnay Report: “It’s astounding to think how far the category has come in a relatively short space of time – let’s not forget that producers were compelled to import planting material illegally as recently as the late 1970s and early 1980s.”