in the vineyard : The Drostdy Wine Cellar, located close to the historic town of Tulbach, was established in 1964, at the foot of the Winterhoek Mountains. The Distell range takes its name from Tulbach’s old magistrate’s building, De Oude Drostdy, dating back to 1804. A national monument, it overlooks the cellars.
This Chardonnay caters to the growing market demand for quality, easy drinking wines at affordable prices.
Grapes for this wine were sourced from well-established, premier vineyards in Stellenbosch, Malmesbury and Robertson, planted between 1985 and 1990. The trellised vines were planted between 100 metres and 250 metres above sea level, and in the case of Stellenbosch, face south to south-west to take advantage of maritime winds. The vineyards are all unirrigated, where controlled water stress limits the yield and makes for intensity of flavour.
in the cellar : They received no skin contact. Fermentation in stainless steel tanks took place at 12ºC. After which 40% was transferred into a combination of second and third-fill 300 litre French oak barrels, where it spent six months and was stirred on the lees every second week. No malolactic fermentation was induced.