Chardonnay is a white wine grape variety which originated in eastern France, but now the popular variety is grown wherever the wine is made. Chardonnay is considered one of France’s best white wines. For regions just developing, growing the variety means easy access into the wine market, and is considered a “rite of passage.” Chardonnay grapes are a mild flavored grape that, depending on the way it is created, can produce flavors of oak, tropical fruits, and nutty flavors. Chardonnay is popular when blended into wines such as Champagne, and is one of the most planted grape varieties in the world. The wine grew in popularity, especially in the 1980s, and has been closely related with Pinot blanc. In the 1990s, Chardonnay was the typical drink for young women. As popularity grew, vineyards started planting more of the variety, however, when times and trends altered, more people started drinking red wine instead. DNA research shows that Chardonnay is a mix between Pinot and Gouais Blanc grape from France, which is said to have been brought by the Romans from Croatia. Chardonnay is one of three major varieties founded in Champagne, and is the most common variety in Aube and Marne.
Tamarack Chardonnay is made from 100% Chardonnay.
Bright aromas of ruby red grapefruit, mango and stone fruit are found in the bouquet while on the palate, the bright acidity of this wine showcases flavors of guava, crisp Granny Smith apples and Asian pears. Combing the best of both cooperage techniques, the combination of aging in stainless steel highlights the fruit while the aging in neutral French oak provides an added complexity to the wine.
Aged 60% in neutral premier French oak and 3% in new premier French Oak 37% stainless steel.Dropped by gravity straight to the press, the juice is pumped directly to barrel or tank and chilled, inoculated with Chardonnay 3079 yeast, primary fermentation started and finished, secondary fermentation started but completed to preferred taste, typically around 50% completion. All fermentation is done in a 58 degree Fahrenheit barrel room.
Walla Walla Valley Appellation: Alderbanks Vineyard
Columbia Valley Appellation: Bacchus and Gamache Brothers Vineyards
Yakima Valley Appellation: Olsen Brothers and French Creek Vineyards
Tamarack Chardonnay is made from 100% Chardonnay.
Bright aromas of ruby red grapefruit, mango and stone fruit are found in the bouquet while on the palate, the bright acidity of this wine showcases flavors of guava, crisp Granny Smith apples and Asian pears. Combing the best of both cooperage techniques, the combination of aging in stainless steel highlights the fruit while the aging in neutral French oak provides an added complexity to the wine.
Aged 60% in neutral premier French oak and 3% in new premier French Oak 37% stainless steel.Dropped by gravity straight to the press, the juice is pumped directly to barrel or tank and chilled, inoculated with Chardonnay 3079 yeast, primary fermentation started and finished, secondary fermentation started but completed to preferred taste, typically around 50% completion. All fermentation is done in a 58 degree Fahrenheit barrel room.
Walla Walla Valley Appellation: Alderbanks Vineyard
Columbia Valley Appellation: Bacchus and Gamache Brothers Vineyards
Yakima Valley Appellation: Olsen Brothers and French Creek Vineyards
Tanzanite Brut Method Cap Classique is made from 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir.
Fruity, flinty, nutty, honey and creamy notes and beautiful brioche tones are coming through on the nose. It’s dry, lingering and well structured. The Pinot noir gives the wine good backbone, structure and longevity and the Chardonnay gives flintiness which develops in creamy, elegant notes in the wine with ageing. Beautiful creamy mousse.
Tanzanite Wines Yearly source their grapes from Robertson in the Western Cape, famous for its specific areas with chalk in the soil. After sourcing these spots winemaker Melanie van der Merwe asked farmer Ernst Bruwer, from the Farm Mont Blois, to plant Chardonnay and Pinot noir grapes on these spots. After years of trials she realized that year after year the base wines made from these plots compared to base wines made from any other areas tends to mature much slower and gives beautiful complexity in the end product. At around 18.5 to 19 degrees balm hand picking of the grapes are done in small 18kg baskets. This is transported to a press house, which she rents during harvest time. She does whole bunch pressing on every 5 Ton of grapes. Yields are around 480- 500 liters of juice per ton of grapes. Juice is inoculated with Prise de Mousse yeast a specific French yeast strain she uses. Fermentation at cool temperatures for 8-10 days takes place and this is followed by Malolactic fermentation on all base wines. After MLF wines are blended. Secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle and wines are left on the lees to mature and tasted every few months to monitor the ageing on the lees. Minimum time spent on the lees will be 24 months.
It’s the only area in the Western Cape where you will find Chalk in our soil.
Age of the vines is around 8-15 years old.
Enjoy as an aperitif or with fresh seafood, oysters, smoked venison Carpaccio, creamy chicken, apple crumble and even Cape Malay curry.
Review:
"This is a richly flavored sparkler showing complex notes of brioche, apple, and a hint of clementine. It’s bone dry on the finish with lingering toasty lees notes. A blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir aged 24+ months on the lees. The winemaker is Stellenbosch enology grad Melanie van der Merwe who made sparkling wine for 11 years at Distell before starting her own brand."
- International Wine Review (Champagnes & Sparkling Wines for the Holidays: The Best of 2018), 90 pts
"A blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir, the NV Brut begins with biscuity aromas followed by green apple, citrus blossoms and lees. The palate is focused with precision and finesse and shows that the winemaker has taken a lot of time and effort to create this wine. Bright, energetic acidity livens up the mid-palate, and the mousse is firm with a soft nuttiness from the autolytic characteristic. The finish is long and subtly spicy with and lingers with notes of sweet brioche and cashew butter, as the wine spent two years on the lees. - Anthony Mueller" - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (March 2020), 90 pts
The Prisoner Wine Company The Prisoner Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
The Prisoner Chardonnay has aromas of vanilla, apple pie and pineapple. On the palate, baked apple, crème brûlée and toasted oak.
Thibaut-Janisson Blanc de Chardonnay is made from 100% Chardonnay
Appellation 100% Virginia
Winemaking Notes The grapes are handpicked in small baskets late August and are gently pressed as whole clusters. After a settling of 24 hours, the juice is inoculated with selected Champagne yeast and ferments in stainless steel tanks at low temperature. Once the fermentation is over, the wine ages on the fine lees until the spring of the following year. The blend is then put together and cold-stabilized prior to bottling. The bottling occurs in the spring when the cellar temperature is conducive to a second fermentation in the bottle. The now sparkling wine will age on the yeast for over 24 months. At disgorging, a small amount of dosage liquor is added in order to balance the natural acidity.
Clean, crisp and refreshing! With scents of white flowers, apples and pears. This sparkling wine is elegant and complex with vibrant aromas, and fine active streamers. The depth of complexity is elegant and the intricate nuances of the terroir fill the nose and stimulate the palate. It’s full of youthful, bright and alert acidity.
Thibaut-Janisson Blanc de Chardonnay is made from 100% Chardonnay
Appellation 100% Virginia
Winemaking Notes The grapes are handpicked in small baskets late August and are gently pressed as whole clusters. After a settling of 24 hours, the juice is inoculated with selected Champagne yeast and ferments in stainless steel tanks at low temperature. Once the fermentation is over, the wine ages on the fine lees until the spring of the following year. The blend is then put together and cold-stabilized prior to bottling. The bottling occurs in the spring when the cellar temperature is conducive to a second fermentation in the bottle. The now sparkling wine will age on the yeast for over 24 months. At disgorging, a small amount of dosage liquor is added in order to balance the natural acidity.
Clean, crisp and refreshing! With scents of white flowers, apples and pears. This sparkling wine is elegant and complex with vibrant aromas, and fine active streamers. The depth of complexity is elegant and the intricate nuances of the terroir fill the nose and stimulate the palate. It’s full of youthful, bright and alert acidity.
This 100% Chardonnay blend is made from Tête de Cuvée, or first pressing of the grapes, considered superior in quality, with a high percentage of reserve wines for extra complexity, depth and richness, and a low added dosage to preserve purity and freshness.
Thibaut-Janisson Virginia Fizz is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
Virginia Fizz is a fun and festive sparkling wine, great for all life’s celebrations. It is cremant style made of 100% Chardonnay. Packed with apples and peach flavors, the wine has a very creamy and smooth texture. The myriad of tiny bubbles will tickle your taste buds.
Refreshing on its own, but perfect mixed as a cocktail!
Thorn Clarke Milton Park Chardonnay grapes were crushed, destemmed and then pressed using a membrane press. Pressings were not used. Fermented using French Yeast at 12-15 degrees Celcius. The ferment was kept slow and cool to retain all the natural flavors of the grape. The wine was then racked and filtered. Bottling took place soon afterwards so the wine was a true expression of the grape and the terroir from which it was made.
The color is a rich vibrant green. The nose shows lifted clean, sweet fruit of apricot and peach. The palate is medium to full bodied and exhibits predominantly peach and nectarine flavors, with cloves and cardamom evident from the use of a small amount of French oak. The wine finishes full and long with a nice balance of sweet fruit and creaminess.
Thorn Clarke Mount Crawford Chardonnay is made from 100 percent Chardonnay.
This Chardonnay is a fine example of Mount Crawford climate, soil and aspect combining to display great varietal characters. The light green color has a vibrancy that is characteristic of the wine. Peach and tropical fruit flavors are complemented by a creamy texture from lees contact and a small amount of exposure to French oak. This also gives the wine a rich, long but clean finish with delicious white peach, pear and citrus notes.
The winemaker recommends trying this wine with chicken teppanyaki.
Torello Corpinnat Finca Can Marti Brut 32% Chardonnay, 32% Xarel.lo, 22% Macabeo and 14% Parellada.
The Can Martí estate soils have been formed from sediments from the Garraf Massis, deposited thousands of years ago. One of the most characteristic features of the estate’s soils is the presence of accumulations of calcium carbonate.The movement of water through the soil dissolves the carbonates present and takes them to a certain depth. The continuous repetition of this process has ended up producing the accumulation of these deposits.When these become massive, after thousands of years, they bind together and and form a hard stratum called a petrocalcic horizon. This hard stratum limits the availbility of water to the vine and the production, but is a factor that gives the grape quality.
Straw yellow color, fine and constant bubbles, clean and bright, with golden reflections. The nose reveals a subtle aromatic intensity with fresh and sweet aromas. Honey flowers, citrus notes, white fruit, and balsamic herbs such as fennel.
In the mouth the acidity is well balanced, with delicate bitter notes to the finish and a set of ripe fruits and balsamic nuances.
River Road Ranch is a 115-acre jewel in the heart of the Russian River Valley AVA. Chardonnay vines thrive in well-drained soils, shrouded with fog cooled nights, ideal growing conditions. The grapes for this wine came from two blocks of twelve and fifteen-year-old vines, planted with clones #4, 95, and 2A-Wente.
Bottled poetry is the description of Trione Chardonnay. Burgundian in style of both nose and palate. Rich and inviting, this wine offers a complex mix of toasty baguette, warm melted brie; silky but with the structure demonstrating the aging potential. The wine is tasting great now but will be awesome for the next 5-7 years.
All older vintage wines have been purchased from a single collectors cellar. Pictures can be requested before shipment.
Demoiselles Sancerre Blanc is made from 100 percent Sauvignon Blanc.
The name "Les demoiselles" (translate as "The young ladies"), refers to the beautiful migratory birds (Cranes) that fly over the town of Sancerre twice a year (in the Fall going South to spend the winter in the African continent, and in the Spring going back North to spend the Summer in Northern Europe). These graceful birds offer a unique and impressive show when they sometimes land on the banks of the Loire River. The Fleuriet family wanted to highlight this exceptional grace and express an elegant and refined bouquet in this Sancerre Demoiselles cuvée.
The wine shows a bright yellow color with green highlights, a fruity nose with aromas of white flowers and acacia. Light-medium bodied in the mouth, supple and well structured, its concentration and crisp acidity make it a harmonious and food-friendly wine.
Pairs nicely with fresh goat cheeses, oysters with lemon, grilled lemon chicken breasts and Mexican dishes. Serve these whites at 46 °F (8 °C).