Jezebelle Chardonnay

This wine combines well with seafood and white meat dishes.

The heart of our conviction is simple yet deliberate. Trust the Site. 20 years ago, Peter Clarke founded the farm up in the cool heights of the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. Here, in a natural and beautiful ampitheatre, he chose the purity of planting dryland vineyards on virgin soils. Each block is exposed to unique aspects of soil and climate, rewarding us with layered and complex fruit that provides the foundation for our wines that are unveiled in our cellar to reveal their full expression of terroir and vintage.

These Walker Bay vineyards of Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge are situated within close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. The maritime climate being more “temperate” in style, where parallel mountain ranges channel the southerly sea breezes through the appellation during the summer. These winds in turn bring regular sea mists and overcast conditions to the valley and with it more even temperatures. The average temperature is 19° C and rainfall, approximately, 750mm per year. All grapes were harvested by hand in cool early morning temperatures. The grapes were harvested in 6 different batches from 19th of February 2023 until 6th of March 2023. This ensures a more complex wine profile and to express terroir and clone variation. Earlier picking captures the perfumed green citrus fruit profile and the later portion to ensures a more yellow fruit profile with complexity on the palate.

The wine was then matured on gross lees in the barrels for 9 months with minimal stirring. The wine was then blended one month prior to bottling.

This Chardonnay bend was compiled of six different vineyards. Grapes from these batches were harvested early in the morning and then pressed at cold temperatures to preserve flavours and aromas. The juice was left to settle for a period of 24-36 hours at 10°C. The Chardonnay juice is then racked of the settled lees and into a selection of Burgundian oak puncheons (500L) and fermented until the wine is dry. The juice was allowed to naturally warm up after which the wine spontaneously fermented.