Julien Schaal, Mountain Vineyards Chardonnay 2019

VITICULTURE

The grapes come 2 vineyards. One from ELGIN – A Cape's coolest viticultural area and has a unique climate and topography, consisting of an upland basin plateau, surrounded by mountain ranges on all sides. This region shows climatic similarities to Walker bay, only slightly warmer by comparison. The Terroir is very stony and mixed with red clay. Second from Upper Hemel-en-Aarde. The soil is predominantly Malmesbury Shale (a duplex structure). The top layer consists of a mixture of clay (15-30%) and gravel (ironstone and granite particles) and the lower layer is clay shale, which secures a source of moisture. The valley is surrounded and sheltered by a mountain barrier, formed by Galpin Peak (810 meters) and the Tower of Babel (1200 meters), which traps the cloud cover and moisture brought in from the sea by the prevailing wind.

TASTING NOTES

Tangy, tart, sour plums and green apples combine with a creamy, mealy note. Perhaps picked young and then given some malolactic fermentation. This is an attempt at serious Chablis that provides a satisfying alternative.

FOOD PAIRING

The winemaking process detaches itself from industry, and honouring tradition. The grapes are picked by hand at the coolest time of the day. After a gentle pressing, and a stating setting, the juice goes to 300 litres barrels, the wine is aged a minimum of 10 months before the bottling. This special size helps the wine to develop complexity and terroir aromas. The idea is to keep as much as possible the minerality of the wine and the freshness. We don't want to have any malo lactic fermentation as it change the aromas profile of the wine.