Conservation Coast Chardonnay

Pair Chardonnay with subtly flavoured, simply seasoned poultry and pork dishes.

The grapes come from nine-year-old CY5 clone vines on north-facing slopes. The vines experience, on average, 750mm of rain each year with southeasterly winds in the spring and summer and northwesterly winds in the autumn and winter. The soil is composed of a Longlands/Avalon soil and a fine Table Mountain sandstone of which 15% is clay. Along with natural rainfall, the vines are supplemented with under vine micro jet irrigation in every second row.

The wine was then racked off its lees, given a light sulphuring and allowed four months maturation before being given a light filtration and bottled.

The grapes were handpicked in the early morning on 10th March 2016 into 18kg lug boxes at a Balling of 23.2°. Once picked the grapes were placed in cold storage for overnight cooling to a temperature of 4°C. The following day the grape bunches were hand sorted before being put straight into the press for whole bunch pressing up to 1.2 Bar. Thereafter the juice is moved to tank where it remained untouched for one to two days and allowed to settle. The juice was then racked off its lease and allowed to heat up naturally before being inoculated with Lallemand ICV D21 yeast at 30g/hl and then moved to barrel for fermentation to take place for nineteen days. The lees were stirred every day for two weeks directly after fermentation and then twice a week for three months thereafter.

Whalehaven is a boutique, family-owned winery located at the gateway to South Africa’s renowned Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Known for its elegant, cool-climate wines, Whalehaven specialises in handcrafted Chardonnays that express the unique coastal terroir of the region. With a focus on small-lot production and a commitment to innovation and quality, Whalehaven has gained global recognition for its mineral-driven wines that balance purity, structure, and finesse. Discover Whalehaven’s award-winning wines—crafted with care, inspired by the sea, and rooted in place – A Triumph of Nature.