2001 Chardonnay Stellenbosch

The highlight of my tastings at this rustic country estate, with its bucolic stream-side setting, was my look at the extremely promising 2001s just prior to bottling. According to winemaker Adi Badenhorst, in 2000 the summer wildfires in the area actually stressed the vines. The cover crop burned and the leaves of the vines were scorched. The result was that the tannins never got completely ripe. But the white wines from 2000 are good. In comparison, 2001 was a perfect vintage," he added, "with just the right amount of heat stress and long hang time, producing wines with great colors." Badenhorst adjusts the pHs at the beginning, then uses lowish levels of sulfur, doing "oxidative pumpovers to oxidize the unstable tannins."