South African chardonnay gets Gold

This wine comes from a very specific vineyard planted in 2003 on low-yielding weathered Table Mountain sandstone, high against the slopes of the Hottentots Holland Mountains where it experienced very cool climate conditions, exposed to the south-easterly winds from False Bay.

Says Chris Joubert, cellarmaster, "With these special grapes we combined two different fermentation methods, 50% natural fermentation, giving the wine its glow, richness, cream, length, power and its ageing potential of up to four years; and 50% controlled inoculated fermentation that brings about the fruitiness in the wine."

The 2009 vintage was his maiden vintage as he only joined Lourensford in 2008. He was aided by the valuable inputs of his experienced teammate Hannes Nel, who started as quality assurance manager upon completion of the cellar in 2002 and who has been white winemaker for the past three years.