Springfield “Whole Berry” 2019

Set in the heart of the mountain-ringed Robertson Valley in South Africa’s Western Cape Province, Springfield Estate is a vibrant, family-run wine farm. It is owned by the Bruwer family, fourth-generation wine farmers and ninth-generation descendants of the Bruères, French Huguenots who came to South Africa from the Loire in 1688 with bundles of vines under their arms. The estate is currently run by Abrie and his sister, Jeanette Bruwer.

The Springfield philosophy is to produce wine as naturally as possible. The winemaking process is kept direct and uncomplicated – the wine is left to make itself, as was done centuries ago.

This Chardonnay comes from vines planted on a southerly slope and angled towards the sunset on rocky and calcareous soil. True to its name, the Wild Yeast Chardonnay is fermented using the native wild yeasts that occur naturally on the skins of the grapes. Unwooded, it was fermented in underground cement tanks in a slow, volatile process that took between six and nine months. This method, although risky, results in a very expressive wine.