Belle Montagne - Chardonnay - Stellenbosch

A classic Chardonnay with expressive lime notes woven into ripe peach aromas. Hints of fresh vanilla is detectable. A full-bodied wine with a prominent lime line runs through the palate and supported by tropical flavours. A finely balanced Chardonnay with a lime fresh finish. The Chardonnay Vineyards The grapes were carefully selected from two unique sites, one located in the Helderberg Planted in 2011 at 120 meter above sea level and one on the higher slopes of the Simonsberg planted in 2014 at 350m above sea level respectively. These sites all have decomposed granite soils in common. The granite soils always deliver powerful wines, but each vineyard expresses this differently. Picked on the 1st of February the rich and fully golden Chardonnay from the Simonsberg brought ripe aromas and full body to the wine. Picked on the 2nd of February the grapes from the Helderberg brought citrus and freshness to the blend. The aim was capturing the essence of Stellenbosch Chardonnay with a combination of steely lime and rich stone fruit. Winemaking and Maturation The grapes were whole bunch pressed and settled cold for 2 days. It was fermented in 300 litre barrels of which one was new French oak. During the stormy part of fermentation, the barrels were racked and returned to the barrels to control fermentation and to blend the new oak component into all the barrels. After fermentation the barrels were topped from the new oak barrel on ensure a more even distribution of the 25% new oak. Partial malolactic fermentation took place during maturation in barrel. The wine was kept on the gross lees until bottling on 20 November 2023.