Kloof Chardonnay

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Grapes were hand-picked and spent overnight in a cold room, before being whole bunch pressed. No settling enzymes were used, resulting in juice containing more solids. This wine was 100% wild fermented in a selection of 300L French oak barrels (20% new, the rest in 2nd, 3rd and 4th fill barrels).

The 2024 season was characterised by two main factors, record-breaking winter rainfall persisting into September and notable heat spikes in January and February. The winter months provided us with good rainfall and cold average minimum temperatures which pushed our vines into deep dormancy. Spring got off to a cold and wet start, which led to budbreak being about a week to 2 weeks later than previous years. The remainder of the growing phase from October to December 2023 was drier than normal. Later owering was aided by the warmer weather, but windy conditions during this period led to the forming of smaller bunches and berries. January and February experienced notably heat spikes. Proximity to the cold Atlantic Ocean and altitude are the two main factors contributing to making Iona one of the coolest vineyards sites in the country. So, while we experience excessive heat spikes during this period, our vines were still busy going through veraison and the warmer drier weather help the bunches to go through veraison quickly, leading to the maturity of the berries being more even. The quality of the grapes that arrived at the cellar were exceptional. Smaller bunches and berries contributed to wines with lovely flavour and concentration and the resulting wines are showing beautiful expressive fruit, with lovely fruit concentration and bright acidities, giving the wine great vibrancy and tension.

The wine remained on the lees for a total of 12 months with 20% malolactic fermentation and without battonage. Thereafter, the wine was racked and blended. The wine was fined and stabilised naturally for a period of 3 months before bottling.