Ava Marie Chardonnay

Restless River

Restless River
Ava Marie Chardonnay

The Restless River farm has some of the oldest Cabernet sauvignon and Chardonnay in the Hemel-en-Aarde, with vines first planted in 1999. This Chardonnay bears the name of its single 2.06 hectare vineyard, named after their daughter. The slopes are south and east facing, with shallow top soils with iron-rich rocks and sandy gravels over decomposed granite clays. This was whole bunch pressed, settled overnight, and then native fermented into various sized French barrels (5% new) as well as two terracotta amphora, from Tuscany. Post ferment, this rested on lees for 11 months prior to moving to stainless for a 3 month tightening stint prior to bottling. Once in bottle, this rested for 18 months prior to release. Subtle white peach, pear is laced with crushed stone and woven with flint, deftly shaped and slightly gripped by the time in wood and amphora. The finish lingers long, with a wet chalk / saline note. Ample energy and achieved intent, and bottled under a Diam10, you can expect this to go the distance. A stunner. 9,634 bottles produced.

Read about Restless River here.

Vintage: 2019
Bottle Size: 750 mL
Bottles per Case: 6
Price per Bottle: $62
Style: Still

Region: Western Cape
Appellation: WO Hemel-en-Aarde
Country: South Africa

Grape: Chardonnay
Colour: White
Vegan: Yes
Organic: No
Biodynamic: No
Natural: No
Low Intervention: Yes