Organic Touchstone Chardonnay

Salmon with roasted shiitakes and mushroom sauce.

This wine marks our second vintage with fruit from our very own vineyard at Radford Dale Organic. The 2022 winter weather didn't align with long-term averages, but it still provided ample cold accumulation and rainfall, surpassing the needs of the vineyard. Budding and dormancy break was even and benefited from slightly warmer spring temperatures and low precipitation. The rain in December created some disease pressure for the white varietals. Dry conditions persisted until late February, ensuring good grape potential and ripening however, the harvest came to a sudden stop with unusual rain in late February and March, so we had to be patient to bring in blocks at optimal levels.

Racked out of barrel after 10 months on the lees, assembled and settled before bottling.

The grapes were all hand-picked at dawn to capture freshness and acidity while retaining elegance in the flavour expression. The bunches were picked early in the morning and brought into our Organic cellar then hand-fed over a sorting table. Whole bunches were pressed, with alcoholic fermentation entirely carried out in barrel (only using natural ambient yeast) for 8–10 weeks.

Founded in 1998 by Alex Dale, Radford Dale set about the Cape in search of exciting vineyard parcels for their chosen specialist varietals. Today, they have two producing wineries. The first is located in Stellenbosch, predominantly focused on sourcing maritime influenced parcels around the Helderberg and Polkadraai. Here, they produce the cult, single vineyard wines of Renaissance Chenin Blanc and Frankenstein Pinotage, and the Radford Dale Vinum range; a set of six wines that consistently overdeliver on style to price. The 2022 vintage marked the maiden release from their own vineyards purchased in Elgin under Radford Dale Organic, with the release of four single varietal Estate wines, the only organic certified vineyards in the region. More recently, they have co-founded South Africa’s first Organic Wine Association. They continue to reintroduce Gamay Noir to the Cape, establishing the first new plantings for some 20 years. It’s a varietal geared up to thrive in warm conditions, and on granite soils. Stylistically, Gamay also embodies Radford Dale’s championing of elegant, refreshing red wines.