We were very excited when we were invited to attend the Elgin Chardonnay Colloquium
It had not been held since 2019 because of the Covid hiatus
Elgin's cool climate and excellent soils produce some of the best South African Chardonnays in several different styles,
some of which we were to taste in the four flights
They were kind enough to lay on transport from Pinelands for us, a place at which we could safely leave our car
It was an early start, the bus leaving at 8 am
A lovely warm day and a warm welcome with tea, coffee and cheese scones to begin the day
It was attended by fifty invited members of the trade, media and Chardonnay buyers
Malu Lambert and Bubs Hyland getting the message out to their readers
The tasting was held in one of the barrel cellars at South Hill wine estate
The first flight of four was poured
The water was sponsored by the new owner of South Hill, Aquasky, who condense water from the atmosphere
James Downes of Shannon welcomed us all and told us some of the history of Elgin,
including a few things that we had not heard before
The South African Navy used terroir in Elgin which belonged to James' father for their training ground
The Naval camp was called Oscar Browne. Sadly, Naval personnel caused a fire that cleared much of the wild bush
Mr Downes, as a farmer, saw the potential of the slopes once they were cleared after the fire;
soon apples, pears and then grapes followed. And he was so right
That is why their Chardonnay is called Oscar Browne
Paul Cluver gave us some more history of the wines of Elgin
Elgin grows just 2% of the national crop of Chardonnay, just narrowly beating the Hemel and Aarde valley
But in the past few years, they have been carrying home some of the most prestigious wine awards
from South African and abroad
Which speaks to the quality of these wines and the talent that is making them
The winemakers would explain their wines when we had finished tasting each flight
One in each flight would be a foreign Chardonnay and we were to guess which it was
Time to taste the first flight of four Chardonnays
Idun consultant winemaker Kobie Viljoen, Cathy van Zyl MW was the moderator, Michael White of Highlands Road and James Downes of Shannon
A classic nose, a hint of oak, lovely fruit aromas, lime lemon crispness, then wood, long warm flavours
Wine two was Highlands Road 2020 Chardonnay. Great elegance on the nose, stone fruit, melon, apricot
Round on the palate with oak first, then ripe cling peach, nectarine and warmth
Wine No.3, Shannon's Oscar Browne 2020 was sensational; Very French in style, sophisticated with a hint of smoke
Full and layered on the palate, lovely crispness with wood appearing on the end
Well done to winemaker Gordon Newton Johnson
No.4 was Callipyge 2020 from Idun – named for the goddess of eternal life, apples and fertility
Idun is owned by the Rousset family
Smoke, limes, Seville marmalade on the nose; clean crisp lime lemon grapefruit with long flavours on the palate
A food wine. Their consultant was there to talk about the wine
Second flight
Paul Cluver cellarmaster Andries Burger, Cathy van Zyl MW, Bobby Wallace of Paul Wallace Wines
and Warren Ellis of Neil Ellis Wines
The first wine was Paul Wallace 2021 Reflection; clean, flinty, lime profile with wood notes
Clean grape, lemon lime roundness and depth, lime cordial on the long end
No.2, Paul Cluver 2020 Estate is rich, complex with a hint of oak on the nose
Crisp, with salty minerality, layered, very complex and lasting with some dry tannins
This is one of Lynne’s favourite Chardonnays and she did recognize it
No.3 was the foreign one: Mercurey Blanc, "En Pierrelet" 2020 Chateau de Chamirey, France, just south of Burgundy
Wood then sweet ripeness, ripe melon and peach on the nose
Rich and full on the palate with stone fruit and ends with more wood
No.4. Neil Ellis 2021 Whitehall Chardonnay (is it drunk there?)
Classic, elegant, a little shy on the nose. Lemon lime, crisp apple. long flavours, clean and chalky
Andries Burger told us that the Paul Cluver Estate wine is from 35 year old vines
Their top Chardonnay, Seven Flags, comes from two very old vineyards
Dan the Man. Daniel of ProCon Audio Visual, responsible for the electronics
Guests enjoying the tasting and at the end of the row, a renowned expert on Burgundy, Remington Norman MW
Winemaker Richard Kershaw MW - smiling
and serious
Third Flight
Oak Valley winemaker Jacques du Plessis, Cathy van Zyl, Rudi Schultz, winemaker at Thelema
and Werner Muller, Iona winemaker
No.1 was Iona Highlands 2021. Incense wood, elegance, smoke and citrus notes on the nose
Dark wood first then butteriness, intense flavours of lime lemon grapefruit and lots of wood
No.2, the foreign wine, Dom Marc Morey Rully Blanc 2020 from Côte Chalonnaise, France
Shy with stone fruit, well made and obviously foreign
Saline, citrus, lots of wood, dried and cooked apple and a bit sickly on the end
No.3, Oak Valley Groenlandberg 2021
Perfume, white fruit, fig leaves, classic and classy, initially, the wood is there, but nicely integrated
Lime citrus, sour plum then heavy wood appears on the end
No.4 Thelema Sutherland 2021
Fruit forward on the nose, cling peach, apple. Lovely mouth feel, almost caramel wood,
bottled Tart Tatin with nuts and apple. Another food wine
Flight four
Joris van Almenkerk, Cathy van Zyl, Richard Kershaw, Carl Lambour, GM of Tokara
The first wine was the foreign example. Sandhi Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay 2019 from Santa Barbara in California
Elegance and quality, spice, apple, cooked and fresh on the nose
Clean, crisp, layered lime, lemon and Granny Smith green apples; the flavours go on and on
It could have been an Elgin wine!
No.2. Almenkerk Chardonnay 2019
An elegant, nuanced, and expensive nose with apple, calvados notes and a hint of oak
Full on the palate with chalky tannins, lime, apple & long flavours
No.3 Kershaw Clonal Selection 2019. A dive-in nose, ripe fruit and maturity
Apple in all its modes, with lime to spice it up, some salinity and subtlety; so well made
Lynne’s favourite of the tasting
No. 4. Tokara Mèthode Cap Classique Blanc de Blanc 2014
Good initial mousse, hints of brioche, nice and crisp with lime, lemon and green apple; some butteriness from the lees
Jacques de Klerk, winemaker of Radford Dale, who brought the imported wines from their selection
Joris van Almenkerk
Karl Lambour, General manager of Tokara
Moderator Cathy van Zyl MW
A view through the cellar door of Elgin magic: Grape vines, Apple and Pear orchards and forestry plantations
A few final words from James Downes who thanked the hard-working people who put the event together
Jacques de Klerk for sourcing the imported wines
Oak Valley Tasting room manager Carissa Moutsoyannis for her organisation of the event
and a bouquet for a deserving lady, Cathy van Zyl MW
who is such an important contributor to the South African wine industry
Nicky Wallace of Paul Wallace wines, Carissa Moutsoyannis of Oak Valley and Jacqueline Lahoud of Winemag.co.za
Lunch consisted of mezze starters,
lots of Mediterranean dishes
and then the main courses were served family style to each table
Elgin wines, not only chardonnays, were available for tasting in the next room,
so some guests spent quite a lot of time there,
which is why many of the seats at the tables were unoccupied when this photograph was taken
Spicy couscous, roasted new potatoes, rare beef, chicken, salad and a warm ham croquette
There was a huge selection of wines to taste and drink with our lunch
Dessert was a delicious panna cotta topped with a berry coulis and a light chocolate mousse
to finish off a wonderful day tasting Elgin wines
This is definitely one of the top tastings on the South African wine calendar
All the stories we have published can be seen in the Blog Archive near the top of the column on the right
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