4.0/5
Holden Manz Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2020
£29.95 incl. VAT
12 in stock
Bright pale gold with a lifted nose of citrus blossom, ripe white peach, roasted hazelnut and toasty oak. The palate is layered and creamy — passion fruit and summer melon fruit, cashew and vanilla oak, a fine seam of citrus acidity and a long, mineral finish. A serious, Meursault-styled Chardonnay from one of Franschhoek’s quiet stars.
2020 Vintage — Franschhoek Valley, South Africa
Holden Manz is one of Franschhoek’s most quietly serious estates — a boutique property in the heart of the valley producing tightly-focused Bordeaux-styled reds and elegant, mineral whites in small volumes. The Barrel Fermented Chardonnay is their statement white — a Meursault-style, wooded expression drawn from the estate’s granite-and-shale-influenced soils on the valley floor.
The 2020 vintage was fermented and matured in French oak barriques (a measured proportion new) for around 10 months, with regular bâtonnage to build texture without smothering the fruit. Naturally low yields and hand-harvesting keep concentration high. Now with five years of bottle age, this is a mature release drinking beautifully in its window.
