Description
Delaire Graff Terraced Block Chardonnay 2025 is a high-altitude Stellenbosch white built around tension, precision, and a more restrained barrel-aged profile. Sourced from a terraced estate vineyard, it shows the kind of concentration that comes from low yields and small berries, but it carries that intensity with freshness rather than weight. This is a Chardonnay that feels shaped as much by altitude and site as by the cellar.
The nose opens with a smoky floral lift and citrus zest, giving the wine an aromatic profile that feels both taut and inviting. On the palate, almond, ripe pear, and passion fruit unfold over crisp acidity and a flinty mineral line that keeps the wine focused and energetic. There is clear structure here, but the absence of malolactic fermentation and bâtonnage helps preserve the wine’s purity and brightness. It would pair especially well with grilled seafood, roast chicken, creamy sauces used with restraint, or richer vegetable dishes where its freshness and mineral drive can work naturally with the food.
Already highly expressive, this is a Chardonnay with immediate appeal, but it also has the shape and balance to evolve gracefully over the next several years.
The nose opens with a smoky floral lift and citrus zest, giving the wine an aromatic profile that feels both taut and inviting. On the palate, almond, ripe pear, and passion fruit unfold over crisp acidity and a flinty mineral line that keeps the wine focused and energetic. There is clear structure here, but the absence of malolactic fermentation and bâtonnage helps preserve the wine’s purity and brightness. It would pair especially well with grilled seafood, roast chicken, creamy sauces used with restraint, or richer vegetable dishes where its freshness and mineral drive can work naturally with the food.
Already highly expressive, this is a Chardonnay with immediate appeal, but it also has the shape and balance to evolve gracefully over the next several years.
The grapes were hand-harvested from the estate’s terraced vineyard, whole-bunch pressed, and barrel fermented over 14 days in 40% new French oak. The wine then matured for 10 months in 225L barrels. No malolactic fermentation or bâtonnage was allowed, a deliberate choice to preserve purity, freshness, and mineral precision in the final wine.
Exceptional vineyard conditions in 2024 resulted in low yields and small berries, contributing to the wine’s concentration and structure.
Winemaker: Morne Vrey
Exceptional vineyard conditions in 2024 resulted in low yields and small berries, contributing to the wine’s concentration and structure.
Winemaker: Morne Vrey
Nestled between majestic mountains and overlooking the vineyards of Stellenbosch, Delaire Graff Estate has achieved what owner and globally renowned visionary Laurence Graff had in mind when he acquired this magnificent Cape Winelands property in 2003 and vowed to transform it into South Africa’s most desirable art, hospitality and wine destination.
