Radford Dale Vinum Chardonnay 2022

Pale gold in colour with a vibrant green tinge. Lemon preserve and fresh brioche notes combine on the nose, with a touch of spice. A lively lime zip leads into a generously round mid-palate. The finish is taut and crisp leaving one with a clean, mineral lift.

Three unique vineyards are dedicated to this Chardonnay, all benefiting from a strong maritime influence. The Polkadraai Hills vineyard is 23 years old & picked earlier, for freshness, with the Heldeberg sites, at 12 and 14 years of age, picked a little later for palate weight & texture. We believe the quartz-rich granite soils bring a mineral expression to the wine. The sites have uninterrupted views South to the Ocean and reflect a cooler character than inland Stellenbosch vineyards. Harvest in 2022 was back to normal picking dates in February, with a healthy sized crop, and cooler ripening temperatures. We’re thrilled with the concentration & aromatics in this vintage.

The grapes were all hand-picked at dawn into small lug bins, chilled in our white wine cellar, then hand-fed over a sorting table. Whole bunch pressed, with the free-run juice settled for two days before being gravity-fed into barrels.

A combination of 2500L Foudre of Austrian origin plus 228L and 300L barrels from Burgundian cooperages, ranging in age from 3rd to 6th fill were used. Alcoholic fermentation was entirely carried out in barrel (only using natural ambient yeast) for 8–10 weeks. The cellar was maintained at about 10° Celsius (fermentation peaking at about 18°), then the temperature dropped to 7°. Racked out of barrel after 9 months on the lees, assembled and settled with no filtration until bottling.