KWV The Mentors Chardonnay 2013

ageing : This wine will benefit from bottle aging for 3 - 5 years.

Elgin, a region recognized for producing apples and pears as well as grapes, is rapidly becoming synonymous with outstanding South African Chardonnay. It enjoys a cool climate with very cold winters and lower overnight temperatures particularly during the growing season, which is ideal for the development of lovely lime and elegant floral notes. We aim to produce Chardonnay that is an expression of the vineyard. We therefore make subtle use of oak, allow 10% malolactic fermentation, and set out to achieve alcohols of around 13.0%. Chardonnay winemaking in South Africa and many other new world countries has gone through a dramatic stylistic journey, in sourcing fruit from cooler regions and simple technique. We have also opted to use natural yeasts and older barrels, and like to bottle relatively early.

This wine is a blend of two vineyards from the Elgin region; both components were fermented in barrel. 100% of the blend was fermented with an indigenous yeast strain to enhance the texture and mouth feel of the wine. Only 10% of the wine was allowed to undergo partial malolactic fermentation, to add complexity to the final blend. The wine was left on extended lees contact for 100 days after fermentation and stirred regularly during this period. Thereafter the wine was racked and placed back into barrel for another six months.

The wine was matured for nine months in 50% first, 30% second and 20% third-fill barrels.