Name: Storm Chardonnay Vrede 2023
Brand: Storm Wines
Price: 43.5 EUR
Availability: InStock

Storm Chardonnay Vrede 2023

Smooth, citrusy, with fresh acidity and a long aftertaste. Does Chablis resonate with you? Neither do we. An utterly phenomenally elegant and mineral Chardonnay that comes from the northern slopes (mind you, I'm in the southern hemisphere) of the Hemmel en Aarde valley, which is the home of Burgundian varieties in South Africa. The combination of clay and shale soil creates a wine that has delicate aromas of lemongrass, basil and lime, delicate light but structured stone fruit flavours and a long mineral finish.

Tim Atkin 94

2023 / 0.75l / 13% / Hemmel en Aarde - South Africa

About the winery

A small miracle in the middle of the coldest valley in South Africa. The terroir here is second to none in Burgundy, the great subsoil, cool summer days and morning mists from nearby Walker Bay make for a totally unique terroir for producing the finest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. After 12 years working as a winemaker for Hamilton Russel in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley (Afrikaans for "heaven and earth"), Hannes Storm discovered two small parcels of extremely special terroir in the same valley. Both vineyards were planted with Pinot Noir in 2008. The first vintage of Storm saw the light of day in 2012 and after 18 months in bottle, the wines were released in August 2014.

Today, Hannes and Nathalia Storm are a husband and wife team who handcraft their Vrede range of wines from the low-vegetation, stony, clay-rich Bokkeveld ('Buck Veld') shale soil in the Hemel-en-Aarde valley and their Ridge Pinot Noir and Ridge Chardonnay also from the low-vegetation, stony, clay-rich Bokkeveld shale soil on the Hemel-en-Aarde ridge. Storm Wines is the only producer to have Pinot Noir in each of the three appellations in Hemel-en-Aarde. Small production, careful viticulture, minimal intervention in the cellar and a constant leaning towards the old world present wines with distinct personality and character.

Terroir

Hemel-en-Aarde is located outside the picturesque fishing village and popular holiday town of Hermanus, 120 km from Cape Town. Southern right whales breed in Walker's Bay from July to November each year. In addition to the whales and as a holiday destination, the picturesque town is also home to the renowned Hemel-en-Aarde wine region, which was divided into three separate sub-appellations in 2009.

Due to the cold Atlantic Ocean, it is considered an exceptional wine region with a cool climate. The prevailing summer wind, the south-easterly wind, has a milder influence, as does the Benguela Current, which flows in from Antarctica. The higher average rainfall than in other Cape winegrowing areas has a significant impact in dry years. The Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge wine regions are based on clay-rich soils that originate from the Bokkeveld, while the vineyards in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge area are at a higher altitude and have a more diverse character. The vineyards in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley have a significant clay content in the subsoil, but are generally on lighter textured decomposed granite soils.