by Patrick Ogle
Crystallum Agnes chardonnay 2010 may be the wine that makes you rethink the notion of South Africa's white wine being chenin blanc. This wine comes from several different South African vineyards. The average wine drinker will probably not know the areas of the different vineyards (I didn't) but they all have different soil composition. Soil composition makes a great deal of difference in how a wine tastes. Combining grapes from different vineyards with different soil compositions will create a wine that uses all the different characteristics that comes from the different soil. Grapes from different vineyards, chosen with care can create a wine as excellent as a single vineyard wine (maybe).
The wine is aged in French oak barrels where it stayed 9 months. The result is a wine that is oaked but not overly oaked. It is a chardonnay that all chardonnay lovers can embrace. Some yammer about "no oak" or "oaky" or "no butteriness" or "very buttery." This wine balances all of this in a way that can almost be described as perfect. If you cannot accept a chardonnay unless it is MASSIVELY oaky or you feel a wine must be so oaky if feels like you are drinking dissolved butter? You may not like this wine but then you probably don’t actually like wine.
It isn’t super fruity but maybe various citrus flavors are there in the mix. It has something you could describe as floral but that is always a tricky flavor description with me. It sounds like people making things up because while there may be a whiff of that when you sniff? It isn’t so apparent when you actually drink the wine.
I was told the 2009 was even better than this one which is startling because 2010 is pretty solid. The 2010 version is the second vintage of this chardonnay. You could probably save this wine for a few years even now and be happy with it? But it isn’t going to be terribly easy to find. One question to ask yourself here is; is this worth the price tag? It is good but it is going to cost you around $50. Can you find a chardonnay to your taste for less, even significantly less? Possibly.
But as time goes on keep an eye on the winery.
$45-55
Crystallum Agnes chardonnay 2010 may be the wine that makes you rethink the notion of South Africa's white wine being chenin blanc. This wine comes from several different South African vineyards. The average wine drinker will probably not know the areas of the different vineyards (I didn't) but they all have different soil composition. Soil composition makes a great deal of difference in how a wine tastes. Combining grapes from different vineyards with different soil compositions will create a wine that uses all the different characteristics that comes from the different soil. Grapes from different vineyards, chosen with care can create a wine as excellent as a single vineyard wine (maybe).
The wine is aged in French oak barrels where it stayed 9 months. The result is a wine that is oaked but not overly oaked. It is a chardonnay that all chardonnay lovers can embrace. Some yammer about "no oak" or "oaky" or "no butteriness" or "very buttery." This wine balances all of this in a way that can almost be described as perfect. If you cannot accept a chardonnay unless it is MASSIVELY oaky or you feel a wine must be so oaky if feels like you are drinking dissolved butter? You may not like this wine but then you probably don’t actually like wine.
It isn’t super fruity but maybe various citrus flavors are there in the mix. It has something you could describe as floral but that is always a tricky flavor description with me. It sounds like people making things up because while there may be a whiff of that when you sniff? It isn’t so apparent when you actually drink the wine.
I was told the 2009 was even better than this one which is startling because 2010 is pretty solid. The 2010 version is the second vintage of this chardonnay. You could probably save this wine for a few years even now and be happy with it? But it isn’t going to be terribly easy to find. One question to ask yourself here is; is this worth the price tag? It is good but it is going to cost you around $50. Can you find a chardonnay to your taste for less, even significantly less? Possibly.
But as time goes on keep an eye on the winery.
$45-55
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