Iona, Elgin Highlands

THE ACHIEVEMENT of Iona with the 2021 Chardonnay in their Elgin Highlands range at the 2023 Decanter World Wine Awards (UK) was impressive, to say the least. Of all the Chardonnays entered in the competition, it was one of only 16 rated 97+ on the judges’ 100-point scale and one of only three honoured among the ‘Best in Show’ (Top 50 wines overall, chosen from over 18 000 entries).

As Iona proprietor Andrew Gunn put it: “We are all very excited and would have never conceived that when I bought a rundown apple farm 26 years ago that we would produce a Chardonnay that ranks with the best in the world. A wonderful team effort with encouragement, support and input from so many. I am very grateful.”

The 2021 vintage involved a typical, cold Elgin winter, “with snow on the high mountain peaks and high winter rainfall.” This “after five years of very dry and unusually warm winter conditions.” Whereas for a long time Iona was best known for Sauvignon Blanc, it’s arguable that Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are what winemaker Werner Muller and the team have been most successful with over the past decade or so. It should prove interesting to see what sort of track records they can establish with their more premium, single-vineyard expressions of these varieties introduced in recent years.

IONA CHARDONNAY 2021
WO Elgin. Four different vineyards, 9 to 15 years old. Grapes hand-picked before being whole-bunch pressed. No settling enzymes were used, resulting in juice containing more solids. 100% wild-fermented in selection of 300L and 228L French oak barrels (22% new, the rest 2nd, 3rd and 4th fill). The wine remained on the lees (sediment) for 11 months. 12% of the wine went through malolactic fermentation, to add richness and texture. The wines were then racked and blended in stainless-steel tanks before fining and natural stabilisation for a period of three months.
Alc 12.8 | RS 1.9 | TA 7.7 | pH 3.3
From Producer’s Tasting Notes: Stylish and Burgundian with bright citrus, white stone fruit, oyster shell minerality and a hint of brioche… A wine that is layered and complex with a lingering finish.
From Decanter’s Tasting Notes: Pale dawn-yellow in colour, with taut yet close-knit aromas that suggest plant sap, peeled vegetable and spring leaf as much as green fruits… An aromatic backdrop… On the palate, the wine is lean, shapely, intense…
R375pb ex-cellar.