2023 Warwick White Lady Chardonnay

This pale straw-yellow "White Lady" Chardonnay is the flagship wine from the South African winery Warwick . The vineyards' location, slightly higher up in the foothills of the Simonsberg Mountains, is equally ideal for the Chardonnay grape. This allows the grapes to develop a combination of freshness and power. The grapes are harvested from prime vineyards, planted with 3,000 vines per hectare. This produces a wine of exceptional power and depth, worthy of maturing in fine French oak. The wine is barrel-fermented, and a mixture of new and used barrels is used for maturation: a quarter are new, a quarter are used once, and the rest are three or four times used. The lees, the dead yeast cells, are stirred into the wine weekly—battonage—to give the wine greater depth and complexity. The result is a Chardonnay with Burgundian allure!

On the nose, the White Lady has notes of white fruit like pear and peach, but after swirling, notes of honey, caramel, and a touch of oak also emerge, which then yields vanilla and a touch of caramel. On the palate, the wine is very powerful with a juicy flavor yet good freshness and lovely acidity. The oak doesn't dominate the palate either; it's pleasantly classic in style, yet everything is well-balanced. It's not surprising that the White Label is bottled in a Burgundy-style bottle, as it certainly shares similarities (except for the price). The White Lady is a wonderful fish wine, delicious with gravad lax, lobster, scallops with vanilla sauce, and also with carpaccio.

Near Stellenbosch, on the road to Paarl, lies Warwick Estate. This winery has a long history, dating back to 1791. Between 1791 and 1920, it was renamed "Good Success." This name was changed to Warwick by then-owner Alexander Gordon, after the Warwickshire regiment in which he served. In 1964, Stan and Norma Ratcliffe purchased the estate and began planting Cabernet Sauvignon. At that time, they sold the grapes and did not use them for their own production, despite Norma's desire. She studied winemaking, and a cellar was built. Warwick's first vintage was 1984. For several years now, Stan and Norma's son, Mike, has been at the helm of the company, assisted by winemaker Louis Nel.

Warwick's wines are certified organic, meaning no artificial fertilizers, chemical pesticides, or herbicides are used. Warwick goes even further, using the sun and moon to determine harvesting and pruning schedules.