2022 Altlas Swift Shelter Chardonnay

Atlas Swift is the winery where the premium wines of Martin & Welma Smith from Franschhoek are made. Martin is the winemaker and became known for his work for Pasarene. Their specialty is terroir driven wines and this is also the reference to Atllas which is a reference to the different maps, or terroirs, where the vines grow. The Shelter Chardonnay is a real Terroir wine so soil, location but certainly also the climatic conditions of a specific vintage determine the wine and (fortunately) there is no attempt to make it uniform.

The Altas Swift Shelter Chardonnay comes from vineyards located in the Cape South Coast, Cederberg, Robertson and Wellington and has been aged for 12 months after harvest in (partly used) French Oak. This Shelter has aromas of ripe citrus fruits, orange and citrus peel. On the palate sultry flavors of grapefruit and hazelnuts, with a bright acidity to complement the creamy vanilla flavors. Flavours of freshly baked brioche and yeasty notes in the long finish.

FACT: In the Tab: Attachment you will find the official factsheet of this beautiful wine. We will automatically send it to you when you order this wine. The wine is in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and if you come to pick up the wine you will also receive a nice discount. You will see your discount immediately when you choose Pick up in the Checkout page. We are almost next to the Rijksweg with plenty of parking. Click here for our address.

About Atlas Swift

ATLAS: In Greek mythology, Atlas sided with the Titans when they fought the Olympians during the Titanomachy, a series of battles between the two generations that lasted ten years. When the Titans were defeated, many of them were imprisoned in Tartarus, a deep abyss that was used as a dungeon of torment and a prison for the Titans. However, Zeus, the leader of the Olympians and god of thunder and the sky, sentenced Atlas to stand at the western edge of the Earth and hold up the sky on his shoulders for eternity. A common misconception today is that Atlas was forced to hold up the Earth on his shoulders, but in classical art Atlas is depicted holding the heavenly bodies, not the globe. This was reinforced in the 16th century by the developing use of 'atlas' to describe a body of terrestrial maps. For Atlas Swift, the use of the word Atlas is an ode to the Titan of endurance. We also see that the responsibility rests on the shoulders to protect the character of the land in which the grapes grow. Atlas is also a reference to the different maps, or terroirs, where our vineyards grow.

SWIFT: Swifts are part of a family of high-flying birds called Apodidae and are among the fastest birds in the world. Martin & Welma Smith’s wine journey can be compared to that of a swift – while they may not always move us at the speed of light (making good wine takes patience), they are constantly on the move, exploring the many atlases of the Cape Winelands and its diverse terroirs.

In 2019, Martin & Welma Smith’s dreams became reality when the first vintage of Atlas Swift was born. All our wines are vinified in the same way, with the only difference being the origin of the grapes, and are produced in very limited quantities due to the constraints of their origin.