The selection of Chardonnays for the 2008 Celebration of South African Chardonnay, held at the De Wetshof Estate in Robertson on Friday, 26 September, reflected the diverse styles from the different regions which make up the Cape Winelands.

More than 150 foreign and domestic members of the wine trade and journalists attended the event which included a luncheon. There were also 38 Chardonnay winemakers in attendance and their wines were served at either the main tasting or as part of the food and wine pairings at the luncheon which followed.

Respected wine commentator and industry analyst, Dave Hughes was again tasked with drawing up a list of Chardonnays for the Celebration of Chardonnay, which he stressed was not a competition, but a list which represented the popular choice of wines.

Dave in turn enlisted the help of a wide number of pundits who taste Chardonnay on an ongoing basis throughout the year. He asked them to supply their personal list of Chardonnays which impressed them.

He then collated the wines, compared them against South African Chardonnays which had won competitions recently and called on his good friend and master auctioneer, who has also had years of experience tasting Cape wines, Patrick Grubb, for his opinion. He did the same with a well-respected importer in London to double check.

"Both their selection reflected the wines which we had on the list, so we are fairly certain that we have a balanced portfolio of Chardonnays which represent the overall industry in the Cape."

"It was quite amazing the enthusiastic response I received when I sent out the list, with the first lists coming back almost immediately. It was obvious that some people had a clear idea of the Chardonnays they rated," said Dave.

There were just over 30 respondents and there were a broader range of wines this year compared to the first tasting which coincided with Cape Wine 2006.

South African Chardonnays have also walked off with top honours for the past four years at the International Wine & Spirits Competition according to Dave.

He also pointed out that wooded Chardonnays still dominated the style preference of the entries submitted. Of the 15 wines in the main tasting, all had had some oak contact.

"Judging by the amount of Chardonnay available throughout the world, there is no doubt that this varietal has an incredibly strong following, thanks mainly to its versatility," said Dave.

The list of wines tasted in order of votes:
2006 Jordan Nine Yard Chardonnay
2006 Hamilton Russell Chardonnay
1998 De Wetshof Estate Bateleur Chardonnay
2007 Bouchard Finlayson Missionvale Chardonnay
2006 Glen Carlou Quartz Stone Chardonnay
2006 Vergelegen Chardonnay Reserve
2007 Ataraxia Chardonnay
2007 Charmonix Reserve Chardonnay
1999 Springfield Estate M¨|thode Ancienne Chardonnay
2007 Uva Mira Single Vineyard Chardonnay
2006 Mulderbosch Barrel Fermented Chardonnay
2006 Rustenberg Five Soldiers
2006 Waterford Chardonnay
2005 Hartenberg Eleanor Chardonnay
2006 Thelema Chardonnay

The wines which were paired with the food are listed alphabetically:
2006 Bouchard Finlayson Kaaimansgat Chardonnay
2008 Danie de Wet Limestone Hill Chardonnay
2005 De Wetshof Estate D'Honneur Chardonnay
2006 Durbanville Hills Rhinofield Chardonnay
2006 Groot Constantia Gouverneurs Reserve Chardonnay
2007 Groote Post Chardonnay
2006 Graham Beck Lonehill Chardonnay
2007 Neil Ellis Elgin Chardonnay
2007 Neil Ellis Stellenbosch Chardonnay
2007 Newton Johnson Chardonnay
2007 Paul Cluver Elgin Chardonnay
2006 Radford Dale Chardonnay
2006 Rupert & Rothschild Baroness Nadine Chardonnay
2007 Sterhuis Chardonnay
2007 Van Loveren Chardonnay
2007 Warwick Chardonnay
2006 Weltevrede Poet's Prayer Chardonnay

Caption 1:
Retired journalist of note, Fritz Joubert, who helped smuggle some of the first Chardonnay vines into South Africa in the early 1980s, with Lourens Jonker proprietor of Weltervrede Estate in Robertson, enjoying some of the Chardonnay bubbly made by Louren's son Philip.

Caption 2:
Get to grips with South African chardonnays is Texan John Rydman, proprietor of Specs, purveyors of wines, spirits and finer foods, Duimpy Bailey who is involved with numerous industry bodies in South Africa and other guests in the underground cellar where Dave Hughes conducted a tasting of 15 top Chardonnays from the various regions around the Cape.