A panel of judges, led by Eedes, scrutinised 60 carefully chosen Chardonnays in order to identify their top ten and compile the in-depth report which is available online as a reference for all wine lovers.
Eedes says the top ten Chardonnays for 2012 were nothing short of world-class, and he is delighted with the broad range of styles coming through in this year’s selection. "There were two 5-Star wines in this year's report, each in a very distinct style. The Jordan Barrel Fermented 2011 is for me archetypical Chardonnay - intense citrus, creamy texture, bright acidity. Technically correct but not at all boring. The Uva Mira Single Vineyard on the other hand is a bit more quirky with some more hard-to-describe savoury flavours."
Alwyn van der Merwe, director of investments at SPI, said that SPI’s involvement in the report has been a happy and fruitful journey so far. “It is wonderful to see Christian’s Chardonnay report gathering momentum year-on-year and we believe it is carving a strong and important niche for itself on the annual wine calendar.”
He said that as an investment house SPI always keeps a close eye on ‘passion investments’ - of which wine is an important example – as an alternative investment option for high net worth clients. “From an investors’ perspective, wine has a long legacy of value and continues to be a passion investment option with strong appeal globally. Although this upward trend is set to continue, I do offer a word of caution. The wine market is still mostly unregulated and fraudsters have preyed on eager wine investors in the past. I strongly advise potential investors to speak to the experts, and consult references like the Christian Eedes Chardonnay Report to help identify top quality South African wines.”
The Christian Eedes Top Ten Chardonnay wines for 2012 are:
Five stars
- Jordan Barrel Fermented 2011.
- Uva Mira Single Vineyard 2011
Four and a half stars
- Almenkerk 2011.
- Hamilton Russell Vineyards 2011
- Hartenberg 2010
- KWV The Mentors 2011
- Radford Dale 2011
- Sterhuis Barrel Selection 2010
- Sumaridge 2010
- Tokara Reserve Collection Walker Bay 2011
For further information: