BlankBottle "Seelug" Stellenbosch Chardonnay 2024

Vin Chicago: 92 Points

When we asked our South African importer if Pieter Walser had any new wines he was excited about in his 2024 vintage, we were offered the stunning Seelug Chardonnay. Afrikaans for "sea breeze," the BLANKbottle 2024 Seelug delivers exactly that: minerality, freshness, and salinity dialed up to maximum! Wrapped up with a heap of fresh lime zest, this 14% Chardonnay sourced from a single vineyard in Helderberg will reward greatly a pairing with ceviche, whitefish, and oysters. When we popped the cork, the aromatic South African sea breeze filled nearly half of our store. This is a wine of POWER, but one that also prides itself on subtle complexities and hidden flavors that reveal themselves over the journey of a single sip, let alone an entire meal. Bold and delicious now, this wine is still in its infancy, and we expect to knock our socks off even more in the years to come.