Playing with Chardonnay is something Stephanie loves to do, even if it is not a part of the Thistle & Weed selection (her main project). In 2023, Steph sourced fruit from Stellenbosch again after a brief switch to the Swartland due to insanely low Stellenbosch yields in 2022. The fruit in 2023 is from the base of the Simonsberg Mountain on granite and clay soils. Steph is really excited about this vintage and calls it one that was “kind to the early ripening varieties like Chardonnay.”
The Chardonnay was hand-harvested and de-stemmed with a gentle pressing to stainless-steel tanks. The juice fermented at a rather cool temperature, and after ten days the fermentation went dry. The wine remained in tank to mellow out. After ten months of aging, the wine was bottled with a gentle fining, crossflow filtration, and dose of sulfur.