The Producer

The Alvis Drift Reserve Chardonnay comes from a family estate in the Scherpenheuvel ward of the Breede River Valley, outside Worcester. The farm takes its name from a low-water bridge across the Breede, built in 1930 by Oupa Alvi van der Merwe, grandfather of the estate’s current winemaker. The Reserve range is the cellar’s showcase tier, made with a low-intervention, unhurried approach that lets fruit and site do the talking.

Vintage & Terroir

The 2023 fruit was grown in the cooler southern pocket of the Scherpenheuvel ward, where night air moderates an otherwise warm inland climate. Alluvial, shale and sandy loam soils sit alongside rocky, well-draining slopes, concentrating flavour in lower-yielding blocks. That cool window, rare for the Breede River Valley, is what lets Chardonnay ripen slowly enough to hold its acidity while building depth.

In the Cellar

This is a 100% barrel-fermented Chardonnay, eleven months in wood. The 2023 drops the tank-vinified portion the cellar used in 2022 and commits the whole parcel to barrel — a deliberate step up in texture and concentration that, on the evidence, cost the wine nothing in fruit.

Tasting Notes

Preserved lemon and barley sugar lead on the nose, with a tealeaf nuance sitting behind them. The palate is about freshness and flavour intensity rather than weight, closing on a clean citrus note. Rated 90/100, 4.5 stars, Outstanding — Platter’s By Diners Club Wine Guide, 2026 edition (https://www.wineonaplatter.com/wine/detail/166679).

Food Pairing

A barrel-fermented Chardonnay with this much citrus lift handles richer plates without being flattened by them: pour it with grilled kingklip, a lemon-and-herb roast chicken, or crayfish off the braai. It works with a mature Gruyère or a soft goat’s cheese too. Order your case and keep the Tribe fed.