Before Fudge joined our band of merry Chardonnays’ we’d Cap Classique-d, Oaked, Unoaked, Amphoraed and Concreted.
In our well-documented love affair with Chardonnay the Fudge offered us a shot at an unconquered Chardonnay frontier … Dessert Wine.
A Chardonnay Straw wine, oh how they chuckled!
It was said that it could not be done. That is was a fools errand. That it was just the kind of pursuit that could easily drive a sane winemaker right into the loving embrace of a straight-jacket.
But, in our eternal quest to better understand this noble cultivar, we set out failing to heed the many, many, many warnings.
The result is a superbly structured Chardonnay straw wine is a South African first. To get our sugar levels up to a sticky level we desiccate the Chardonnay bunches - crimping their stems to cut off their water supply - and allow them to syrup up on vine for a month. But you’ll experience no saccharine sweetness or high alcohols. This baby cruises in at a low flying 11% making it the perfect accompaniment to the end of a meal.
