Iona, Elgin Highlands Chardonnay, 2022

This is a really special and excellent Chardonnay from one of the loveliest sites imaginable in the high altitude hills of Elgin, looking down towards Cape Town, Stellenbosch and the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

The grapes are farmed sustainably and are grown on slow ripening, cool slopes that create a wider range of more complex flavours. The body is delicate for a New World Chardonnay and in truth, the wine is far more akin to classic European Chardonnay styles than those from, say Australia or California. The flavours are of fresh apple, blossom and citrus at first, but then develop to cashew, brioche and toasted almonds, with a mouth-watering, saline finish.

The wine is fermented traditionally and ages for just under a year in French oak barrels, 20% of which are new.

When Andrew Gunn bought the Iona estate, the land, situated at 420 metres above sea-level, was an apple orchard. He was roundly laughed-at when he started planning for vineyards, as the climate in Elgin, and especially in the sub-zone of the Elgin Highlands, is very cool indeed. Suitable for apples, but surely not serious viticulture? That's where the story started and though it's not fair or accurate to say that the rest is history, the rest certainly did follow-on with exceptionally fine harvests of crisp, saline, focussed and complex grapes, vintage after vintage. In a country where cool vineyard areas are extremely rare and in a global context of increasing temperatures, it seems that Andrew's purchase and plan could not have been better executed.

The vineyards are all organically and biodynamically farmed with a roving flock of geese to operate the pest-control function. Altitude, plenty of sun and the Atlantic Ocean finish the package of perfect conditions in which to practice viticulture - the results are really impressive.

As ever with our experience of South African wines, we've found that it is the whites that lead the way to success: if you make elegant, balanced, crisp and complex whites, then you have a far better chance of making decent reds. Our opinion. And here, you will find some seriously wonderful whites.