2023 Creation Estate Reserve Chardonnay

A single vineyard Chardonnay from the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Thanks to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, this part of the region enjoys the necessary cooling. This gives the grapes time to ripen and retain their fresh acidity. A textbook example of Chardonnay, in which the buttery tones are balanced by a mineral freshness. The Reserve Chardonnay of 2017 has a good nose. The Chardonnay starts with a classic expression of French oak, tropical fruit, fresh, fruity fruit and delicious candied citrus fruit. In the mouth we notice the use of French oak so a bit of butter, brioche comes back. The wine is elegant and medium to full bodied with a structure that is in balance with a bright, fresh acidity, ending with a long finish. This delicious Chardonnay spent ten months in French oak barrels, 40% new and only around 10,000 bottles were produced.

About Creation Estate

When Jean-Claude (JC) and Carolyn Martin took on the challenge of starting a winery in a remote corner of the Walker Bay Wine Region in 2002, it was quite exciting. Vines had never been planted here before, but JC and Carolyn - both scions of well-known wine families - were determined and convinced of the potential of the area. Together they founded Creation Estate in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Five years later, in 2007, the first harvest took place and they equipped the cellar with the best equipment from Germany, France and Switzerland. Since then they have been working hard. Not only with their quality wines, but also the tasting room has made a name for itself.

Today, Creation Estate has 50 hectares of vineyards in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. JC and Carolyn’s philosophy for making wine is based on “enhancing the beauty of nature”. It is all about the quality of the grapes, not the tricks that can be performed in the cellar. “Winemaking is a delicate art that must be reserved in order to capture the nuances of the origin”, says JC Martin. Terroir is important at Creation Estate. Not surprisingly, because the combination of higher altitude vineyards and the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean creates a unique microclimate in Walker Bay. In addition, JC Martin works with wild yeast cells instead of commercially developed ones, read more about this on our news page.

In 2019, the township of Overstrand Hermanus in South Africa was awarded the UNESCO ‘Creative City status for Gastronomy’! This is one of only 10 cities worldwide and the first on the African continent to receive this distinction. For the winery Creation, and many other individuals and boutique producers in the region, this is a tribute to their contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

About Heaven and Earth Valley

Creation Estate is located in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, a sub-area within the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. It is located approximately twenty kilometres from Hermanus, the coastal town on Walker Bay that is also known as the 'whale capital' of South Africa. The Atlantic Ocean not only ensures that the whales happily bob around here, it also provides an ideal climate for wine growing. It is warm, but it rarely gets warmer than thirty degrees during the growing season. This is due to the fresh sea breeze and the fact that the vineyards of Creation Estate are slightly higher than most vineyards in the area. The grapes are given the opportunity to ripen optimally, but retain their fresh acidity thanks to the cool nights. The soil also plays an important role in this. The vineyards have a clay-derived slate soil, called Bokkeveld. It prevents water stress and makes the vines less vigorous, which in turn contributes to the slow ripening of the grapes (due to the slow release of groundwater).

In short, Creation Estate has a unique terroir in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. They know how to translate this into full, but at the same time elegant wines with ripe fruit aromas, fresh acids and a beautiful minerality.