Restless River, 'Ava Marie' Chardonnay 2019

Restless River farm is in the cooler Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, at 850ft. This wine is from a Single Vineyard registered block of chardonay (the wine is now named after this block). 2.1ha in size, on east and south facing slopes.Shallow top soils vary from grey, sandy gravel to rocky sandstone. Below this lies deep, decomposed granite clay peppered with quartz crystals.

When Craig Wessels is not working for his animation and design agency or directing films, he and his wife Anne can be found making Restless River wines on their tiny farm in Hemel-en-Arde, located near the fishing village of Hermanus. They bought the only plot of land they could afford and have slowly transformed it into a 5-star rated winery in Platters guide. Armed with the coolest climate on the cape, self-taught confidence, tattoos, biker t-shirts, a couple of amphoras from Tuscany and a restless drive to experiment and learn, the Wessels family are producing come of South Africas most exciting wines. They farm as naturally as possible, and believe the grapes develop depth and complexity through struggle. As a result, yields are low, taking off the few tons that the weather, birds, baboons and Kwezi (the grape-loving dog) kindly leave behind. Yet the wine produced is spectacular