Warwick Estate Chardonnay 2019 White Lady 75cl

The light green color shows the fresh and lively attitude of this wine. The bouquet opens with intense French oak aromas, coconut and untoasted almonds and lanolin. The Chardonnay fruit flavors start to dominate with tones of green apple, lime and orange peel. The palate is full, round and shows a complexity of fruit, well balanced with the supporting oak flavours. The minerality keeps the flavours fresh and ensures a long aftertaste.

Grapes where harvested from Warwick Estate vineyards at 24,0 B from blocks with a typical density of 3000 vines per hectare. All the wine was aged in French oak for 10 months. 33% of the barrels where new, 33% second fill and the rest third fill barrels. During the time in barrel the lees was stirred weekly for 6 months to increase the fullness of the wine, while the Mallolactic fermentation was only allowed to ferment 40% of the total Mallic acid. After 10 months the wine was given a very light fining and bottled without filtering.

Warwick Estate is a family-owned and run winery. Managing Director Michael Ratcliffe is the 3rd generation family member to oversee this high quality boutique operation that has been lauded globally for excellence and consistency. Mike is passionately involved in many aspects of the South African and global wine industry and has held senior leadership positions in industry bodies. From 1771 til 1902, Warwick Wine Farm was known as the farm De Goede Sukses. After the Anglo Boer war in 1902, Colonel William Alexander Gordon, Commanding Officer of the Warwickshire regiment decided against returning to England and bought the farm. He renamed it Warwick as a tribute to his regiment and the rest, as they say, is history. Warwick was purchased on April 1st 1964 by Stan Ratcliffe after an extensive search for the best terroir in the Cape. Together with his new bride Norma , they soon realized the potential of the extraordinary property and began planting Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cabernet Sauvignon vines produced high quality grapes, which were soon in demand from neighbouring wineries. Norma became more and more interested in the making of wine and began to study the subject. Soon a cellar was in place and in 1984 the first legal Warwick vintage was released (a Cabernet Sauvignon). It seemed Norma had the talent for making great wines and production soon increased. In 1986 Warwick Trilogy was releases, a Bordeaux style blend which has since became one of the flagships of the South African Wine Industry.