Lelie van Saron, Chardonnay Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley 2020

Natasha Williams is a dynamic young winemaker from the small town of Saron on the Western Cape. From a young age she felt an affinity for science and nature, making winemaking a natural study choice. She graduated from Stellenbosch University with a degree in Oenology and after completing a 6-month internship at Jordan Winery, joined the Bosman Family Vineyards winemaking team in late 2014. After spending time abroad - completing a harvest in California and traveling through France – Natasha was inspired to start her own label: Lelie van Saron. The name is in Afrikaans and makes reference to her hometown. Natasha's approach to winemaking is simple: make wine with a pure expression of the terroir and grape variety, using natural methods. The result is elegant, honest wines from cool climate sites.

This is the sophomore release and is definitely becoming a standard for minimally handled Hemel-en-Aarde Chardonnay for Natasha. The Debos Vineyard is just on the north side of the dam for which it is named at the base of the Babylonstoren Mountains. The small block that makes this wine is a south/southwest facing slope at roughly 550-650 feet in elevation with the vines planted between fields of fynbos and in very close proximity to the sea. 2018 marked the ‘end of the drought vintages’ and while the growing season wasn’t as extreme as the two previous vintages, the yields were already cut immensely at flowering. Overall it was a healthy season for the grapes with little disease pressure. The bunches were small, with berries smaller than usual, resulting in concentrated flavor.

The grapes were handpicked and then hand sorted at the winery prior to being whole-bunch pressed with an overnight settling to get the chunky stuff naturally filtered out. The following morning the wine was racked and spontaneous fermentation commenced within two days at the ambient cellar temperature in a mixture of concrete tanks and older French 300L oak barrels. Primary fermentation took four months to complete with zero additions, and malolactic fermentation was completed during this time as well. The wine sat on lees with no battonage for an additional 16 months prior to being racked and blended to tank. After two additional months the wine was bottled with a rough filtration and aged in bottle for another four months prior to being released.

Grapes: 100% Chardonnay
Viticulture: Practicing organic – dry-farmed
Soil Type: Cartref: a mixture of granite, sandstone and quartz
Vine Age: 9-years-old
Fermentation: Native – whole-bunch pressed to 50% concrete tank and 50% 3-5-year-old 300L French tonneau
Aging: 20 months in 50% concrete tank and 50% 3-5-year-old 300L French tonneau
Alcohol: 14%
pH: 3.31
Total Acidity: 5.7 g/L
Total SO2: 143 ppm
Production: 125 cases

TASTING NOTES: The nose shows pithy lemon and lime peel, with limestone minerality and subtle hints of oak. The palate displays excellent varietal purity with a linear, mineral structure balanced by ripe lemon, melon and stone fruit. A long finish with lingering citrus fruit.

FEMALE WINEMAKER. BLACK WINEMAKER. MINIMAL INTERVENTION. SUSTAINABLE. PRACTICING ORGANIC. LOW SULFITE.