Cape Menetlle Single Site Block 10 chardonnay 2024

This is an outstanding chardonnay and quite frankly one of the very best I've ever seen from Cape Mentelle. It comes off Block 10 on the Chapman Brook Vineyard, which is now more than 30 years old. After hand-picking, it was pressed with wild fermentation in oak and then aged for a further 10 months. The result is a wine of quite pretty pure characters with a precision and poise that is most impressive. This was a very warm year, but the earlier ripening chardonnay has emerged largely unscathed, and this is one of the best examples of what can be achieved from this region. There's a lovely white peach, grapefruit and citrus character merging with a little chalky acidity on the nose. On the palate, it's fine and yet there is tremendous intensity harnessed and focused through to the finish, which is incredibly long. A first-rate wine this.