Iona, Chardonnay, Elgin, South Africa, 2021
100% Chardonnay - 13.5% abv.
An exceptional wine to have in our portfolio, and it is not just me who thinks so. This wine won Best in Show at Decanter World Wine Awards 2023, and received a stonking 97 points from Robert Parker! The Iona Vineyard is set at the top of the valley in Elgin and is a rather special place in the world. Andrew is not only a pioneer in winemaking but also in how he operates and maintains his vineyard. All production happens onsite and he even keeps his own cows, to create his own fertiliser for the vines. Truly extraordinary.
The wine shows concentrated marzipan and citrus notes, with underlying hazelnut and lime, which adds to layered complexity. It is seamless, with a flavoursome and long finish.
vegan ∙ practising organic
🍇 | Get your free recipe card for this wine
Decanter Best in Show Award, 97 points - World Wine Awards 2023
100% Chardonnay - 13.5% abv.
An exceptional wine to have in our portfolio, and it is not just me who thinks so. This wine won Best in Show at Decanter World Wine Awards 2023, and received a stonking 97 points from Robert Parker! The Iona Vineyard is set at the top of the valley in Elgin and is a rather special place in the world. Andrew is not only a pioneer in winemaking but also in how he operates and maintains his vineyard. All production happens onsite and he even keeps his own cows, to create his own fertiliser for the vines. Truly extraordinary.
The wine shows concentrated marzipan and citrus notes, with underlying hazelnut and lime, which adds to layered complexity. It is seamless, with a flavoursome and long finish.
vegan ∙ practising organic
🍇 | Get your free recipe card for this wine
Decanter Best in Show Award, 97 points - World Wine Awards 2023
100% Chardonnay - 13.5% abv.
An exceptional wine to have in our portfolio, and it is not just me who thinks so. This wine won Best in Show at Decanter World Wine Awards 2023, and received a stonking 97 points from Robert Parker! The Iona Vineyard is set at the top of the valley in Elgin and is a rather special place in the world. Andrew is not only a pioneer in winemaking but also in how he operates and maintains his vineyard. All production happens onsite and he even keeps his own cows, to create his own fertiliser for the vines. Truly extraordinary.
The wine shows concentrated marzipan and citrus notes, with underlying hazelnut and lime, which adds to layered complexity. It is seamless, with a flavoursome and long finish.
vegan ∙ practising organic
🍇 | Get your free recipe card for this wine
Decanter Best in Show Award, 97 points - World Wine Awards 2023
At 420m above sea-level, set high above the picturesque Elgin Valley, Andrew Gunn founded Iona. It is here overlooking the Atlantic Ocean that he has secured some of the coolest vineyards in the Cape. In a country where cool climate vineyards are like gold dust, these vineyards are veritable nuggets. There is an extremely long growing season, allowing Andrew to create wines with complex flavours and a fresh, elegant style. The approach is hands off and the land is farmed according to organic and biodynamic practices, with a particular focus on ensuring the health of the soils. Pests are kept under control by the resident flock of geese that roam the vineyards. Handy!
The Chardonnay is produced from 2 North-facing vineyards on the western boundary of the estate, planted in 2003. The cool climate ensures long, slow physiological ripening of the grapes under ideal growing conditions, with the sugar, ph, acids, tannins and flavour compounds being in perfect balance to produce elegant, low alcohol wines of distinction. Harvested in March.
Grapes were whole bunch pressed and each block vinified seperately. The juice settled for 24 hours, after which it was racked to 300L French oak barrels Barrel for 11 Months in French oak, 5% spontaneous malolatic fermatation. The wine then has a further 3 months maturation in tank after blelnding, before bottling.