Lothian Vineyards Garners Coveted South African Chardonnay Trophy In The 2019 International Wine Challenge.

Cool climate producer from the Elgin Valley, Lothian Vineyards, has scooped the coveted South African Chardonnay Trophy in the 2019 International Wine Challenge (IWC) for their 2017 vintage of Lothian Chardonnay. The wine scored 95 points and won the IWC’S hallmark of excellence in Chardonnay with the Varietal Trophy in the global competition.

The wine, that hails from the 3 blocks of Chardonnay that Lothian produces, was hand harvested at optimal ripeness. The precious elixir was crafted by Master of Wine, Richard Kershaw, who steers the production and has been instrumental in elevating the Elgin Valley for its high-quality production of Chardonnay.

The IWC, now in its 36^th year, is widely regarded as the greatest acclaim one can achieve in the wine industry. Only a handful of South African producers won the rare prize, that is said to have gone through many rounds of judging: alongside Lothian Vineyards was Paul Cluver, Bon Courage and Constantia Glen that received two trophies. Each medal-winning wine was blind-tasted on at least three separate occasions by at least 12 different judges including Masters of Wine. The accolade holds significant weight due to the wine being tasted blind and judges recognizing the strength of the winning wines for its faithfulness to style, region and vintage.

Proprietor Gavin Wilson, notes of the wine, “It is by far the greatest expression of Chardonnay we have created to date. Our location in Elgin with vineyards that are very near a lake with high mist creates a unique micro-climate. The wine expresses itself with an abundance of lemon, yellow grapefruit with sweet cream and hazelnut. Integrated toasty oak providing a rich body with long, mineral finish.”

2017 TASTING NOTE

The colour is very bright and clear with flashes of yellow and gold. The nose is quite prominent and complex. It starts with notes of very ripe oranges, bananas and tangerine peel. These light fruit notes move to the heavier ones of a tarte tatin made with pineapples. The entry is surprisingly bracing. The fine acidic backbone that gives this wine a lively tension asserts itself immediately.  Flavours of yellow citrus, pineapple and nectarines come to the fore. Wood is noted but it is very much in the background. It provides a fragrant base and some texture to the mid palate. This wine has good length and all the while the flavours change in the mouth, the acid stands guard ensuring a very clean finish.

VINICULTURE

The 2017 vintage from Lothian Vineyards’ 3 blocks of Chardonnay was hand harvested at optimal ripeness. The fruit was whole bunch pressed, with a period of skin contact. Fermentation was started in stainless steel with ambient yeast. The fermenting juice was racked into a selection of French barrique followed by a period of battonage to bolster the wine’s mid-palate. Ten months of barrel maturation on the fine lees fleshed out the wine and added richness. Prior to bottling the wine was lightly filtered to preserve its integrity.

WINE-MAKING