The best Chardonnay 

South Africa – Vinum Rating

Vinum’s new Chardonnay tasting shows that South Africa values this wine variety greatly.

A few weeks ago, 25 Chardonnays from eleven countries came to the table. They were Chardonnays from all over the world between 30 and 100 francs, according to the magazine:«The wines are as animatingly fresh, spirited and multi-layered as ever. In other words, we recommend perfect summer wines with lightness and depth simultaneously.»

The magazine points out,«During the VINUM panel tasting, various tasters stated that the wines presented themselves so animating and fresh that it was hard to spit them out. And that one inevitably had to think of seafood and other dishes that would harmonise excellently with these wines.»

Chardonnay for everyone and from everywhere

In the recently published article, the magazine states that the experts have a positive impression of Chardonnay because consumers also get what they expect from these wines: «namely, crisp, spirited freshness, lots of character and an often pronounced minerality, most of which comes in the form of notes such as flint, graphite, wet stone, slate, salt or smoke».

Furthermore, they add that good Chardonnays no longer come from just one place or one particular part of the world but that there are incredible Chardonnays with character in all aspects of the world.

The evolution of Chardonnay

The last 30 years have been decisive for the development of Chardonnay. Before the 1980s, wines from certain regions were always at the top of the rankings. From this decade onwards, producer regions such as Australia or South Africa took the lead and established themselves in the world of Chardonnay.

Today, the situation has changed. Vinum points out: «Of the total of 25 wines tasted, the jury was only able to clearly identify whether nine were European growths or wines from the New World. For 16 wines, the classification was impossible or incorrect.»

Wines have evolved over the years. What happens to the alcohol content? According to Vinum magazine: «the wines have generally slimmed down further in recent years; on average, the wines in this sample had an alcohol level of 13.5 per cent by volume».

The last 30 years have been decisive for the development of Chardonnay. Before the 1980s, wines from specific regions were always at the top of the rankings. From that decade onwards, producer regions such as Australia and South Africa took the lead and established themselves in the world of Chardonnay.

Today, the situation has changed. Vinum points out: «Of the 25 wines tasted, the jury could only clearly identify nine as European or New World. For 16 wines, the classification was impossible or incorrect.»

Wines have evolved over the years. What happens to the alcohol content? According to Vinum magazine: «the wines have generally slimmed down further in recent years; on average, the wines in this sample had an alcohol level of 13.5 per cent by volume.»

The result

One of the most important and interesting factors of this tasting was that the wines were too strongly influenced by wood with notes like coconut, caramel or butterscotch. What the winemakers are aiming for today is pure straightness and crispness. Vinum mentions: «Some wines are now so puristic that you almost wish for a little pinch of the former opulence back».

Chardonnays from Switzerland, Austria and South Africa achieved the highest ratings.

Enclosed are the ratings of Lismore: The Chardonnay, which was among the best of the tasting, with 18.5 points.

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