2017 Seven Flags Chardonnay

The 2017 Seven Flags Chardonnay is whole-bunch-pressed for nine months. It has a lovely bouquet of passion fruit and pineapple mixed with crushed stone/chalky scents. The well-balanced palate offers crisp acidity, moderate depth, a tightly wound finish and a hazelnut-tinged aftertaste. Enjoy this Seven Flags, one of the Cape's most dependable Chardonnays, over the next decade.

The nose is delicate and focused on the 2017 Seven Flags Chardonnay with yellow pear the apples and Meyer lemon, and oak tones of popcorn kernel and graham cracker. The palate is delicate yet precise with the oak integrated seamlessly over the mid-palate and gives a beautiful elegant spice to the wine. The finish is clean and exactly what it should be for a medium-bodied wine with a medium lingering finish. This is good juice with only 5,400 bottles made.

The 2017 Seven Flags Chardonnay was matured in French oak barrels for nine months using 31% new oak, the rest second- and third-fill. The nose is a little more closed than the Estate Chardonnay at this early juncture, although there is a brooding intensity here. This is well defined, displaying hints of dried honey and white peach with aeration. The palate is fresh and crisp with hints of Golden Delicious and orange peel, the oak very well integrated and with an almost Meursault-like, nutty finish. Give this two or three years in bottle. Excellent.