2015 Chardonnay Reserve
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Tasting notes
Fermented in French oak (40% new); around 35% went through malolactic conversion. Aged for 11 months on the lees. Natural cork. Tasted blind. Big, broad, lactic nose. Fruit and acid not in synch. Finishes a bit short. Darker than most and became oxidised in the glass. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Neal Martin
More reviews and scores
The 2015 Chardonnay Reserve has a fresh bouquet with pear, mandarin and light beeswax scents. Fine delineation. The palate is crisp and tensile with bright acidity, not the most complex Chardonnay, though it has a sapid, pithy finish that lingers in the mouth. Tasted blind at the 10-Year-On horizontal in London.
(3.8 grams per liter r.s.; two-thirds new oak): Medium light yellow. Deep, musky, complex scents of ripe peach, lemon drop, truffle and spicy, vanillin oak, lifted by a subtle element of wild herbs. Savory, minerally and penetrating, offering a terrific combination of fruit, acidity and oak. This sharply delineated Chardonnay finishes very pure, spicy and long. I'd wait a year or two before pulling the cork. An outstanding South African Chardonnay.
The 2015 Reserve Chardonnay is all estate fruit from a single block that undergroes a barrel selection. It has a showstopping bouquet, the 18-20% new oak nicely integrated, subtle patisserie scents infusing the citrus fruit, hints of shaved almond and nutmeg emerging with time. The palate is fresh on the entry with crisp acidity, a tang or orange rind and a long and precise, marine-tinged finish. This is a strong follow-up to the 2013.