Description
Tokara Limited Release Chardonnay 2023 is a barrel-fermented Stellenbosch white built in a more precise, cellar-shaped style, where oak, lees work, and acidity are all carefully balanced. This is not a broad or overly worked Chardonnay. Instead, it leans into tension, layered texture, and a quietly savory profile, offering a more measured expression of richness. For drinkers who appreciate Chardonnay with both polish and restraint, this is a strong example.
In the glass, it shows a light golden hue. The nose opens with roasted lemon, subtle ginger blossom, and brûléed barley syrup, giving the wine an aromatic profile that feels both lifted and gently complex. On the palate, toasted brioche and baking spice echo the nose, while well-poised acidity keeps the wine focused and prevents the oak and lees influence from feeling heavy. The finish is balanced, persistent, and composed, making it equally suited to drinking on its own or alongside roast chicken, creamy seafood, or mushroom-based dishes where its texture and freshness can work naturally at the table.
Already highly expressive, this is a Chardonnay that offers immediate appeal but also has enough structure to continue developing positively over the next few years.
In the glass, it shows a light golden hue. The nose opens with roasted lemon, subtle ginger blossom, and brûléed barley syrup, giving the wine an aromatic profile that feels both lifted and gently complex. On the palate, toasted brioche and baking spice echo the nose, while well-poised acidity keeps the wine focused and prevents the oak and lees influence from feeling heavy. The finish is balanced, persistent, and composed, making it equally suited to drinking on its own or alongside roast chicken, creamy seafood, or mushroom-based dishes where its texture and freshness can work naturally at the table.
Already highly expressive, this is a Chardonnay that offers immediate appeal but also has enough structure to continue developing positively over the next few years.
The grapes were whole-bunch pressed with minimal skin contact, and the free-run juice was kept separate from the press fractions, with only the free-run portion used for this wine. After overnight settling in stainless steel at 10°C, the juice was racked to 228L French oak barrels for spontaneous fermentation using natural yeasts present on the grapes.
Once fermentation was complete, the wine remained in the same barrels on its gross lees, with monthly bâtonnage, tasting, and topping up to build texture and complexity. Malolactic fermentation was allowed, and after 8 months the wine was racked off its lees and prepared for bottling. The wine was then bottle aged for 12 months prior to release.
Winemaker: Stuart Botha
Once fermentation was complete, the wine remained in the same barrels on its gross lees, with monthly bâtonnage, tasting, and topping up to build texture and complexity. Malolactic fermentation was allowed, and after 8 months the wine was racked off its lees and prepared for bottling. The wine was then bottle aged for 12 months prior to release.
Winemaker: Stuart Botha
South African Tokara winery, on the R310 outside Stellenbosch, is nestled among vineyards and olive groves on the crest of the Helshoogte Pass with sweeping views across False Bay and all the way to Table Mountain. With elevations of between 350m and 550m, soil profiles are of weathered sandstone and decomposed granite - the combination lending structure, perfume and longevity to their wines.
