Crystallum Wines, Newton Johnson Vineyards and Storm Wines
Live Virtual Auction, 3 April 2022
Session 1
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
About this Item
Based in the Walker Bay region of South Africa, Crystallum is run by brothers Peter-Allan and Andrew Finlayson, 3rd-generation winemakers who focus on Burgundy varieties. Within only a little over 15 years (interestingly the first vintage was a singular Sauvignon in 2007!) this outfit has positioned itself as one of the top proponents of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in South Africa. Awards locally and internationally are in fact unrivalled, and the wines are sold out every year on release.
The Clay Shales Chardonnay is a single-vineyard wine from a site on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge that is ideally located in a mountain shadow, at high altitude and near the ocean. The wine is named after the Bokkeveld shale and clay soils on which it is grown, which combine to provide the perfect base for a balanced, Grand Cru-rivaling wine.
Provenance
Producer
Critics Ratings
‘Nutty overtones to salted caramel, baked rye and dried yellow fruit. Wonderfully firm acidity that lifts the wine and keeps it vibrant. Ready to enjoy, classy mature Chardonnay. ‘ - Higgo Jacobs (Feb 2022)
'Sourced from a vineyard that’s located just to the east of the Hemel en Aarde Ridge, this shares many of the characteristics of wines produced there. Fermented in concrete eggs and older oak, it’s a lovely, nuanced wine: floral, textured and finely oaked with lime, lemon and vanilla spice combining to delicious effect. Drink: 2015-20' - Tim Atkin SA Wine Report 2015, 94/100
'Citrus, stone, wildflower & ripe pear - with toasty hint - on early complexity of '14 from high-altitude single vineyard. Rich & creamy palate, with succulent acidity carrying it to a very long mineral finish. Vines just outside of the Hemel-en-Aarde, so Wine of Origin Overberg.' - Platter's SA Wine Guide 2016, 4.5*
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