Crystallum Clay Shales Hemel-en-Aarde Chardonnay is a wine that embodies the elegance and finesse of South Africa’s cool-climate wines. It is produced in the Hemel-en-Aarde region of the Western Cape, where vines grow in clay shales soil that emphasizes fruit profiles and minerality, giving the wine its unique character.

This Chardonnay is bright and aromatic with notes of citrus, pear, and apple, which are complemented by hints of vanilla and honey from 10 months of oak aging. On the palate, it has a crisp acidity and a creamy texture that lingers on the finish.

Crystallum Clay Shales Hemel-en-Aarde Chardonnay is best paired with seafood dishes, poultry, and vegetable dishes, and will undoubtedly impress any wine lover looking for quality, elegance, and balance.

Tasting Notes

This complex yet fresh Chardonnay displays white pear notes and banoffee pie's richness and depth. The palate is textured, showing notes of lemon peel, salted macadamia, and oatmeal. It is a generous expression of the single vineyard site with an impressive ability to age.

About the Winery

More often than not, the passion for wines will bring you back into the wine industry, regardless of how distant you are from the same. This is what happened with the Finlayson brothers in South Africa as well. Though they belonged to the third generation of the famous Finlayson winemakers in this area, they weren’t involved in the family’s winemaking business forever, like most other kids. While Andrew went on to study architecture, Peter-Allan pursued his studies in philosophy and economics at the Stellenbosch University. Though they studied completely different subjects, their love for winemaking united them.

They started the company, Cyrstallum Wines, in the year 2007 and produced over 4000 bottles of Sauvignon Blanc the same year. That they were the sons of the man who was known for the making of the Pinot Noir in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, only added to their reputation. Located in the Walker Bay area of South Africa, Crystallum Wines is a very small, family-owned winery that has been making a good name for itself in the list of South Africa’s best wines.

Crystallum introduced Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in its first vintage that was released in 2008, just one year after inception. The main objective of the brothers is to produce high-quality wines using a perfect blend of traditional and modern styles so that they reflect the true flavour and characteristics of the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the only two varietals that the group works on currently. The grapes are sourced from multi-vineyard blends and single vineyards.

Small, stainless steel tanks and French oak barrels are used for fermenting the Crystalum Pinot Noir, which is sourced from one Burgundian cooper. The ageing for these grapes varies between 11 and 16 months, before they are sent for bottling. The Chardonnay varietals undergo barrel fermentation and are aged for 11 months. For both the varietals, only natural yeast is used for fermentation.

http://www.crystallumwines.com

Find out more