Lismore Chardonnay 2020

Owned by Californian winemaker, Samantha O’Keefe, Lismore is the pioneer of Wine of origin ‘Greyton’, and has been designated by SAWIS (South African Wine Industry Information & Systems) recognizing the unique terroir of this region. The vines are planted at 300 metres and produce classic cool climate wines.

Unfortunately the Lismore estate was razed by wildfire on the 16th December 2019.Luckily though, the main wine stock was held in Stellenbosch, so Samantha had something to keep her business afloat, though there would be no Lismore 2019 estate wines on the market. She made 2020 wine from grapes from all over (as well as her own estate chardonnay) – primarily in the Radford Dale cellar, but also at Gabriëlskloof, Almenkerk and Bottelary. This included her first Chenin blanc from organically farmed Paarl grapes. Samantha made the 2021 harvest, including Viognier, Chardonnay, and a much-reduced crop of Syrah from her own vineyards. Limited stocks of the earlier vintages, such as this 100% Chardonnay, are still available.

The vineyards for the wine were planted in decomposed shale over clay at 300 metres in the foothills of the Sonderend Mountain Range. The grapes were picked at optimal ripeness and whole bunch pressed, slowly extracting the juice at a rate of 600 litres per ton. The juice was cold settled for 48 hours and was racked into 225, 300 and 500 litre older burgundian barrels for fermentation and 11 months of maturation. 5% new French oak was used in this vintage.