I recently sat down with Yvonne Lester, a custodian of Chardonnay who’s just released her very own range, Vonn Wines!
Coming from a family with a rich history in wine and spirits production (stretching over seven generations) it was inevitable that Yvonne would one day find herself in the wine industry, forging a name for herself as a wine (Chardonnay) master!
Yvonne has been producing wine for over 24 years, majority spent as head winemaker at Rupert and Rothschild (19 years), where she perfected the recipe of their iconic estate Chardonnay, Baroness Nadine – one of South Africa’s most consistent, award winning white wines.
Her search for perfection lead her to taking a leap of faith by leaving R&R, and producing a single vineyard Chardonnay, under her own label, from her family farm out in Robertson.
The Vonn Wines Chardonnay sees Yvonne picking at three different stages, adding character, depth, and further complexity to the final wine. The grapes are whole bunch pressed, juice fermented with cultured yeast in stainless steel tanks after which the juice is transferred to older French oak barrels and ceramic egg for maturation. The wine settles on the lees for 10 months, with battonage taking place when needed for further texture, flavour and mouthfeel. There is no malolactic conversion as Yvonne wants to retain that vibrant acidity which helps showcase a very special single vineyard site named, Kweekkamp.
This wine is pronounced on both the nose and the palate, with lemon, lime zest, pear, apricot, and flint. The purity of fruit, and concentration, is second to none. The wine is dry, has a medium alcohol, medium (+) body and boasts a long sophisticated finish which is fine-layered, with a refreshing saline edge. The wine kept evolving the longer it sat in my glass!
I mean, I knew the wine was going to be good, but this wine was absolutely outstanding!
Huge congrats to Yvonne, this is a massive first release!
For further information please email Yvonne@winemaker.family or visit www.vonn.wine
WINE, FOOD, AND EVERYTHING THAT'S GOOD! 
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