La Brune new releases

Nico Grobler describes 2023 as the “toughest of all my 20-odd vintages”. After a long stint at Eikendal in Stellenbosch, he and his family moved to Elgin in 2021 to concentrate on making Chardonnay and Pinot Noir under the La Brune label. Extreme weather in the lead-up to harvest forced vines into survival mode, and Grobler describes 2023 as a “vintage of the earth” in the sense of less fruit concentration. Tasting notes and ratings as follows:   

Chardonnay 2023
Price: R530
Grapes from Lothian, 60% CY548 and 40% CY95. Fermentation begun in stainless steel tank and finished in barrel. Matured for 12 months in 228-litre barrels, 30% new. Potpourri, pear, peach, lemon, orange, a hint of earthiness and some yeasty complexity. The palate is poised and refined with a pleasing nervous tension about it – pure fruit and bright acidity before a pithy finish. Alc: 13%.

CE’s rating: 95/100.

Pinot Noir 2023
Price: R580
Grapes from own high-density vineyards, 50% PN 115, 48% PN 113 and 2% PN 459. 75% whole-bunch fermentation before maturation lasting 11 months in 228-litre barrels, 25% new. Raspberry, black cherry, some pleasant herbaceous character, beetroot and mushroom on the nose while the the palate Is light-bodied with lemon-like acidity and chalky tannins. Good transparency in the sense that all its structural elements can be distinctly seen. Alc: 13%.

CE’s rating: 94/100.

Check out our South African wine ratings database.