The Moya Meaker Chardonnay reflects the more generous 2025 vintage with notable depth. The aromas start out reticent, but hit their stride with time in the glass. The opening carries chalk and wet gravel, along with a thread of frangipani, and fresh, leesy bread dough. Citrus aromas read more as pith than zest, the white part inside the peel, with lime leaf adding a lovely sense of cool to the vanguard.

The palate presents candied white citrus, alongside white pear and green apple. Lime zest across the mid-palate transforms into fresh-cut grapefruit, both of which are softened by sweeter hints of roasted Queen pineapple. Over a few days, the wine trades texture and tension for more generous layers of tree fruit and brûlée. A fascinating evolution worth waiting for.

The 2025 Elgin season began late and never caught up. Warm autumn and early-winter temperatures pushed the accumulation of cold units roughly 14 days behind the previous season. Flowering came about two weeks later than in 2024, and veraison was equally late.

Thankfully, summer stayed cool and heat events were notably absent. February was exceptionally dry, which meant that the fruit was able to ripen slowly and evenly. In the spirit of both flowering and veraison, harvest across Elgin commenced roughly two weeks later than in the previous vintage.

Our Chardonnay vines were planted in 2021 on Habibi Farm, in the heart of the Elgin Valley. They are split across two distinct blocks: one southeast-facing, planted to clone CY96; and another planted to clone CY548 on a northwesterly slope — a deliberate choice to shield this sensitive clone from the prevailing southeaster, which can disrupt flowering. Both blocks are trained in the Guyot tradition and rooted in Bokkeveld shale soils rich in clay — ideal for retaining moisture and lending weight to the mid-palate. The cooler southeast exposure of the CY96 block helps to moderate sunlight during ripening, preserving both freshness and phenolic structure.

Grapes were hand-harvested from 10 – 14 February and then chilled overnight, before being whole-bunch pressed via a gentle champagne cycle. The juice was settled overnight and transferred to 1000L Austrian oak foudres for fermentation.

Fermentation was spontaneous and slow, with ambient yeasts guiding the process. The wine remained on its lees for ten months, with occasional light bâtonnage during the first few months to build texture and mid-palate weight. No malolactic conversion was allowed to take place.

A study in mineral tension and textural depth, this Chardonnay will show at its most expressive within five years of vintage, and will evolve gracefully for a decade or more under careful cellaring.

TOTAL PRODUCTION: 1752 x 750ml and 100 x 1500ml
BOTTLING DATE: 04 December 2025
Origin: Elgin
Alc: 12.28%
pH: 3.17 
TA: 5.7 g/L
RS: 4.3 g/L