93 pts Wine Advocate August 2011
Better is the outstanding 2009 Chardonnay that is sourced from Hemel-en-Aarde and Elgin and aged for 10 months in 225-liter French oak with 34% new (the rest 2nd fill). The nose is beautifully defined with scents of melon, honeysuckle and white peach with just a hint of creme patissiere. The palate is fresh and crisp on the entry with subtle almond and hazelnut. It has wonderfully integrated vanilla-tinged oak and a tense, mineral-rich finish that is Corton-Charlemagne in all but name and price. This is one of South Africa’s benchmark Chardonnays. Drink now-2018+ 91(+?)pts Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Mar/Apr 2011
Full yellow-gold. Complex, inviting aromas of peach nectar, apricot and ginger, along with a sexy leesy quality. Spicy, vibrant and penetrating, with intense stone fruit, citrus and vanillin oak flavors carrying through to the long, bright finish. This youthful, ageworthy chardonnay offers a lovely combination of silky, almost glyceral texture and inner-palate energy, with firm minerality suggesting it will unwind nicely with some cellar time.
