Chardonnay

Perfect with light and delicate food such as raw and lightly cooked shellfish like crab and prawn.

2019 harvest season with many challenges that tested even the most skilled viticulturist and winemakers alike. Early leave fall in 2018 after three years of draught, left less reserves for vines to mature grapes. Fluctuating weather conditions in July, August and November have had a big impact on early varietals such as Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Quality of fruit was excellent. picking was earlier. Spring was characterized by big weather fluctuations, which resulted in less, looser and uneven bunches, as well as smaller berries. Vineyards were off to a slow start and growth was erratic due to variations between warm and cold days, as well as cold soil temperatures. A heat wave at the end of October was followed by cold, windy conditions during the flowering and set phase of many vineyards. This led to unevenness in bunches and berries between vines in the same block and even on the same grapevine. Temperatures were moderate in December and January, followed by an initial hot February, as expected. 2019 was an excellent vintage delivering healthy grapes.

100% 228 litre French oak.

Tesselaarsdal was founded in 2015 by long-standing Hamilton Russell Vineyards employee Berene Sauls. This wine is named after the historic Overberg farming hamlet of Tesselaarsdal not far from the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge wine appellation in which Berene was born – a descendant of the freed slaves who were bequeathed the land by former East India Company settler Johannes Tesselaar in 1810. Extreme care is taken to ensure this small-production classically styled Pinot noir expresses the personality of the cool maritime Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge from un-irrigated vines and its elevated stony clay and iron-rich soils.