Finesse Chardonnay

Enjoy with leg of lamb, grilled or barbecued meat such as lamb chops and sausage, as well as seafood and grilled fish.

The grapes are picked in the coolness of the morning, and the emphasis is on capturing the beautiful rich complexities, nutty flavours and pronounced citrus finish which consistently characterises the wines produced from these vineyards.

After barrel-fermentation, the wine remains on the lees under controlled temperatures. Weekly stirring (batonnage) of the lees ensures maximum flavours are released into the wine. A few months later the wines are racked off the less and returned to the barrels for the completion of barrel-maturation, with bottling commencing once the wine meets exacting quality requirements of the winemaking team.

Once de-stemming, pressing and overnight settling have been completed, the juice is racked off from the sediment and moved into French oak barrels specially selected by Monsieur Christian Radoux. For this wine we use first fill barrels as well as second and third fill barrels. The selected French oak enhances the nutty and citrus fruit flavours emanating from the vineyard's rich calcareous soil and high concentration of rock and clay, with the wood also unleashing a plush elegance into the wine.

The name De Wetshof has been synonymous with the production of fine wines in South Africa since the 1970’s. As the first registered wine estate in the Robertson Wine Valley De Wetshof has become known internationally as South Africa’s eminent Chardonnay House due to the pioneering role it played in introducing this noble Burgundian grape to the country. The De Wet family’s winemaking heritage can however be traced back to 1694 when the first De Wets arrived at the Cape and immediately made a mark on the South African wine industry. Today De Wetshof is one of the few third generation wine estates in South Africa. Here Danie de Wet proprietor and cellarmaster is assisted by sons Johann (viticulture and marketing) and Peter (winemaker).