Kleine Zalze Family Reserve Chardonnay 2024
Only the very best expressions of Chardonnay are selected for this wine. Focus is placed on blending components that are not necessarily obviously pungent and fruity, but rather those that are intensely and elegantly structured, promising fantastic ageability. On the nose there is a delicate balance of minerality with bursts of grapefruit pith, underpinned by subtle nuances of oak. The rounded, almost waxy, texture is punctuated by a distinct upfront grip and a finish reminiscent of Jasmine flowers and crushed oyster shells.
variety : Chardonnay [ 100% Chardonnay ]
winemaker : RJ Botha
wine of origin :
analysis : alc : 13.00 % vol rs : 4.5 g/l pH : 3.34 ta : 6.3 g/l
type : White style : Dry body : Full taste : Fragrant wooded
pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Cork
AWARDS
2025 Michelangelo Awards - Trophy for Best Chardonnay
ageing : Enjoy now or age up to 10 years at optimum storage conditions.
in the vineyard : The second vintage of Family Reserve Chardonnay was crafted from three different wards in Stellenbosch, each contributing to the complexity of the wine. All three vineyards are within 25km of the Atlantic Ocean, with the cooling breezes providing much needed relief from the summer heat.The excellent winter rainfall in 2023, was followed by an extremely dry summer with heavy winds during flowering. This influenced fruit set quite heavily on earlier cultivars such as Chardonnay, resulting in lower yields.
In addition, an unusually hot and dry summer dried out the topsoil to such an extent that the grapes ripened up to 14 days earlier than usual in 2024. Frequent ripeness monitoring by the viticultural team ensured that the grapes arrived at the winery in perfect health and bursting with flavour, promising great wine.
about the harvest: The different blocks used to create this wine were hand-harvested separately between 21 and 23° balling.
in the cellar : One portion was destemmed and crushed; the resulting juice given 12 -18 hours skin contact prior to settling. Another portion was whole bunch pressed to retain freshness and lend elegance to the resulting wine. After only 1 day of settling, the slightly turbid juice was racked off its gross lees to a stainless-steel tank where it was inoculated with selected slow-fermenting yeast strains. The juice was then gravity fed into new 400L French oak barrels and 500L Italian terracotta amphorae, and concrete eggs.
The wine spent an extra 8 months on the lees in the respective fermentation vessels, the resulting blend consists of 50% barrel, 20% amphora, and 30% concrete egg fermented wine with no fining or filtration before bottling.
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