2021 Warwick White Lady Chardonnay

This pale straw colored "White Lady" Chardonnay is the top model of the South African winery Warwick . The location of the vineyards, somewhat higher on the foothills of the Simonsberg, is equally ideal for the Chardonnay grape. The grapes can therefore develop a combination of freshness and strength. The grapes are harvested from beautiful vineyards, where 3000 vines per hectare are planted. It produces a wine with exceptional power and depth, which deserves to mature in beautiful French oak. The wine ferments in barrels, and a mixture of new and used barrels is used for maturation: one quarter is new, one quarter has been used once, and the rest of the barrels have been used three or four times. The lie, the dead yeast cells, are stirred into the wine weekly – bâttonage – to give the wine more depth and complexity. The result is a Chardonnay with a Burgundian allure!

In the nose, the White Lady has notes of white fruit such as pear and peach, but after some rolling, there are also notes of honey, caramel and some (oak) wood because then the vanilla and a little caramel. In the mouth the wine is very powerful with a juicy taste but also with good freshness and nice acidity; the wood does not dominate in the taste either; pleasantly classic in style but everything is well balanced. Not surprising that the White Label comes in a Burgundy type bottle because it certainly has similarities with this (except for the price). The White Lady is a beautiful fish wine, delicious with gravad lax, lobster, scallops with vanilla sauce, also with a carpaccio.

Warwick Estate is located near Stellenbosch, on the way to Paarl. This winery has a long history that dates back to the year 1791. In the time between 1791 and 1920 it had a different name and was called "Good Success". This name was changed to Warwick by the 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, even though Norma wanted to. She studied winemaking and a wine cellar was built. The first Vintage from Warwick was 1984. Stan and Norma's son Mike have been at the helm of the company for several years now. He is helped by winemaker Louis Nel.

Warwick's wines are certified organic, which means that no artificial fertilizers, chemical pesticides and no pesticides such as herbicides are used. At Warwick, they go one step further and determine the sun and moon phases of the harvesting and pruning activities