Thelema Mountain Vineyards, Sutherland Chardonnay, 2017

A delicious white from the new Sutherland range of wines from Stellenbosch’s Thelema Mountain Vineyards that will make you think twice about South African Chardonnay. This new bottling is made with grapes from South Africa’s coolest wine region Elgin (40 miles/65km southeast of Cape Town and part of the Western Cape region) and is expressive and full of character. It’s complex and creamy but also fresh and zesty. Citrus fruit flavours combine with slightly sweet vanilla notes alongside a core of minerality gripped by well-integrated oak. Delicious and versatile. A wine asking to be drunk now, and deservedly so, but will no doubt age gracefully.