Organic Touchstone Chardonnay

Salmon with roasted shiitakes and mushroom sauce.

This wine marks our third vintage with fruit from our very own vineyard at Radford Dale Organic. The 2023 winter kept pace with the long-term rainfall average and cold units started accumulating in May already. Even budding confirmed the optimal winter weather condition with véraison, and colour formation being remarkably even. Conditions during Spring were cold and wet, followed by drier summer conditions until early March. This ensured good grape potential and ripening.

Maturation for 12 months, without malolactic fermentation.

The grapes were all hand-picked at dawn to capture freshness and acidity while retaining elegance in the flavour expression. The bunches were picked in small lug boxes and brought into our Organic cellar then hand-fed over a sorting table. Whole bunches were pressed into Burgundian barrels and Amphorae for fermentation.

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.