“Ava Maria has established itself as one of the Cape's greatest Chardonnays.” - Tim Atkin MW, 97 points

When you eat an ortolan, the tiny songbird considered to be a delicacy by French gastronomes, you are supposed to cover your head with a napkin, as a symbolic act to hide your shame for eating something so decadent and sinfully delicious. We feel the same should apply when you drink this rare and unspeakably good Chardonnay, although you might have to explain yourself to your fellow drinkers.

It’s a wine from the oldest Chardonnay block in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, hand-crafted by Craig Wessels, whose family’s roots in the area date back to 1760, being the first settlers to farm there, and it is believed that his forefather, the splendidly-named, Wessel Wessels, was the person who originally christened it the ‘Hemel-en-Aarde’ (‘Heaven on Earth’) Valley.

Their ‘Ava Marie’ Chardonnay has quickly become one of the most admired Chardonnays from South Africa, elbowing its way onto the wine lists of many a Michelin-starred restaurant and was the highest-ever-scoring South African Chardonnay in Decanter Magazine with a score of 97/100 points. If, like us, your wallet winces at the thought of spending over £50 on a bottle of wine, then names like Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet are already well out of reach, so you need to look elsewhere for your ‘special occasion’ wines and this fabulously fits the bill, as it’s a dead-ringer for a premier cru from the hands of someone like Alex Moreau, Michel Mallard or Benjamin Leroux (i.e. ‘classically-styled’). It ‘s bright and mineral with a wonderful, mouth-watering succulence and beautifully judged oak.

Craig seeks freshness in his Chardonnay, so he picks early, keeps the alcohol level at a pleasing 13% abv and likes to age in older barrels, using no more than 10% new oak - when he buys new barrels, he lends most of them out for a year to (very grateful!) fellow winemakers, so they come back ‘seasoned’ and don’t impart too much woody flavour on the wines they surround. As well as barrels of various sizes, Craig has also imported two terracotta amphorae from Tuscany, which are used to ferment the Chardonnay. 13% alc. Drink now-2032.

Press review:

Tim Atkin MW: “Now in its sixteenth vintage, Ava Maria has established itself as one of the Cape's greatest Chardonnays. Sourced from the oldest block of the variety in the Hemel-en-Aarde area, it has amazing tension and granitic focus, refined 10% new wood, notes of macadamia nut beeswax, oyster shell and lemon butter and a lingering, palate-cleansing finish. Sublime. Drink now-2032.” 97 points