Whitehall Chardonnay has aficionados smiling internationally
THE 2020 VINTAGE of Neil Ellis’s Whitehall Chardonnay had only been on the market for a few months when it was included among the Top 4 in Winemag‘s 2021 South African Chardonnay Report. By the end of the year it had been Highly Recommended in Platter‘s SA Wine Guide, and after some more time in bottle it was considered 95+ on the international stage in 2022: gold medallist at the Decanter World Wine Awards (UK) and SA White Wine Trophy laureate at the IWC (UK).
These days the Ellis family of Stellenbosch do own some vineyards of their own but, driven by patriarch Neil, the reputation as one of the country’s top wine producers was built as a négociant, with the Whitehall Chardonnay a case in point. The grapes come from a farm in Elgin where viticulturist and winemaker Warren Ellis is very involved on the ground in between and during harvests before the fruit is trucked over mountains to the cellar on Helshoogte.
2006 was the maiden vintage of Whitehall Chardonnay. Warren took over from his father Neil as winemaker in 2011, and from 2012 whole-bunch-pressing became the norm, with fermentation happening spontaneously (wild yeast). From 2015 the benefits of newer clones in the vineyard began to tell, the barrels all from Burgundy coopers Latour, and by 2017 the youngest vines were 10 years old, the team having stepped up their involvement in the vineyards and hyper selective in terms of berry selection and the quest for optimal ripeness.
It’s a process of “ongoing refinement” according to Neil, with the “best yet to come”.
NEIL ELLIS WHITEHALL CHARDONNAY 2020
WO Elgin. Trellised vines. Supplementary irrigation. Harvest spanned an entire month, from 18 February to 18 March: 6.5 tons/ha, with the grapes at around 22°B. Whole-bunch pressing. 100% barrel-fermented, using 228L fine-grained oak barrels (30% new, the rest second- and third-fill). 30% underwent malolactic fermentation. Matured in barrel for nine months.
Alc 13 | RS 2.1 | TA 6.8 | 3.3
Winemaker’s Tasting Notes: Attractive bouquet… lime, with nectarine, hazelnut and flinty mineral aromas… Remarkable concentration.
International Wine Challenge Tasting Notes: Pure, intense and refined… wouldn’t look out of place in the Côte de Beaune. Nuanced oak with patisserie and citrus peel flavours… lovely definition supported by chiselled acidity.
Decanter Tasting Notes: Opulent nose shows tart tatin, caramelized apples, and crème brûlée. An intensely tangy, sweet-sour palate with massive concentration offers Granny Smith apples, lemon curd, and riverbed pebbles, finishing with piercing acidity and a long, saline mineral finish. Wow!
Producers’ Pairing Recommendations: Salmon, smoked duck, shellfish… And during a tasting at the winery, it was served with beef carpaccio and soft cows-milk cheese.
R325pb ex-cellar, Stellenbosch.
