Smugglers Boot Chardonnay

Richard’s pairing suggestions would be meaty fish, simply seasoned chicken or pork and look to creamy sauces and dishes such as risotto. Avoid too much spice or seasoning, smoked foods and those high in acidity such as vinegar-based salad dressings and marinades, olives, uncooked tomatoes and capers as these will clash with Chardonnay.

2022 follows 2021 as another cooler season. Winter had ideal conditions in that there was water availability throughout and the temperatures were lower than average. Compared to 2021 our average temperature was 0.8o cooler made possible by cooler minimum temperatures. Spring was favourably drier than average enabling a very even budding and shoot growth. However, it was also cool meaning that the growth cycle as per 2021 started 10 to 14 days later. As flowering and set commenced in late October, cooler and drizzly weather contributed to wonderfully lush canopies that required continuous management throughout the Spring and into early Summer. This verdant growth, later phenology, and cool weather extended and prolonged véraison and into the harvesting season. Summer itself was cooler and wetter leading to more challenges of fungal pressure especially given the canopies were denser. Harvest time in 2022 was eventually delayed on average by 10 to 14 days. There were pockets of intense heat during January that led to leaf losses especially those that had previously suffered from downy mildew. The upside is that no irrigation was required during the entire season thus maintaining healthy dam levels. Overall, the white wines have purity and freshness with fabulous aromatics and integrated natural acidity.

The wine then matured in the vessels – in 2021 the Smuggler’s Boot Chardonnay spent an average of 8 months on its fermentation lees which were periodically stirred to enable yeast autolysis - that creamy, oatmeal mouthfeel component. The batches were then individually tasted and blended together with a light fining and bottled.

The grapes were handpicked and then whole bunch pressed. Half of the juice was gravity-flowed directly into used French oak barrels without settling whilst the other half was placed into ceramic spheres. The unclarified juice has neither enzymes nor yeast added. The turbid juice underwent a natural fermentation until dry. On all batches, malolactic fermentation was discouraged by a light sulphuring post-fermentation.

“Our commitment is to make the best wines possible from the vine clones best suited to our unique terroir. Our grapes are grown in the cool climate vineyards of Elgin in the Western Cape of South Africa. We produce only a very limited number of cases of Kershaw Elgin Chardonnay and Kershaw Elgin Syrah each vintage. Our aim always is to produce some of the best wines of their style in South Africa.” - Richard Kershaw