Chardonnay-The Queen of Grapes

Chardonnay is probably the noblest white grape around, being the grape from which the ultra-expensive 'White Burgundies' are made from. Besides that it is quite versatile (unwooded wine, wooded wine, sparkling wine and blending partner)-there are a number of ways to make this special drink. This time of the year is when the decisions need to be made regarding barrel orders for the next season. I recently have been to one of these barrel tastings and would like to share some important facts about Chardonnay.

The process of making Chardonnay follows reasonably structured guidelines. First, crushed, thus light skin contact or whole bunches in the press. The method is what most people use probably because you can press more tons at one time and done correctly there are no harmful extractions. We prefer to use the whole bunch option. In this way we do not extract extra phenols from the skins and also end up with a lovely clear juice that minimizes the amount of lees after settling.

Natural fermentor inoculated: The first option allows the natural yeast strains on the skin and in the environment to convert the sugars to alcohol in the fermentation process. You are thus making a wine that is more terroir driven and quite unique. The second option is when you add specifically isolated yeast to the juice for the fermentation process. With this you are more in control of the fermentation and in a way also the flavour profile that you will end up with in the end on the wine. We use a combination of both.

Stirring (batonage) of barrels or rolling: First option is when you open the bung and with a pedal like tool stir the lees that settle at the bottom of the barrel up to be in suspension with the wine. By rolling I literally mean rolling the barrels 360° to have the same effects as stirring. By keeping the lees in suspension it keeps the wine fresh and at the same to add complex flavours to the wine. We prefer rolling of barrels which means less oxidation while maturing, because you do not have to open the barrels.

Size of the barrels: Coopers can make a barrel to your needs, but the most common sizes used thus far are 228, 300, 400 and 500L. We tasted a wine from a 350L barrel with absolutely outstanding results. The ratio of wood with the wine is less and thus less wood flavour extraction. Some people have really big 'structured' Chardonnay that can soak up the wood, but not all is in this position so you should be very careful in your choice not to over-wood your wine.

Lastly is the time spent in barrel, which walks hand in hand with the previous point. Every year is different and we taste (especially this time of the year) regularly in order to find that exact time when the wine has completed its maturation time and needs to be racked from the barrels. Barrels are tools that help with the complex flavours of the wine and we do not want these flavours to be the main impression of the wine. The flavours we are seeking in the final product comes mainly from the fruit itself (apples, citrus, blossom, minerals, etc) with a touch of butter on the palate that we got from the barrels we use.

I hope you enjoy the next bottle of our Chardonnay! By the way, our {2006 Chardonnay} made the Tri Nations team for South Africa last month, which was a great achievement for a humbly priced wine. The 2007 has just been released and it is looking terrific, check out the wines sectionof the site for availability and pricing.

Click here to go to Dombeya Wines website.