Chandon Vintage Blanc de Blancs 2021 reflects a cool, long growing season on the elevated Whitlands Plateau — a season that favoured precision over richness, allowing the Chardonnay to ripen slowly and evenly above 800 metres. Tight, lean, and linear, shaped by freshness, structure, and clarity of fruit. Four years on lees builds quiet complexity, while a low dosage of 4g/L maintains tension and definition, keeping the cool-season character and mineral line front and centre. Lemon zest and chalk lead the nose, followed by lemon tart, nougat, and subtle toast; the palate is tight and precise, with bright acidity, fine mousse, and a distinctive lemongrass-like freshness; the finish long, clean, and lifted by saline energy. Confident, composed, and made with the table in mind.
Tasting Notes
Appearance
Pale, luminous gold with fine, persistent bubbles — the elegant, precise colour of a high-altitude Whitlands Plateau Blanc de Blancs from a cool, long growing season, with the clarity and definition that four years on lees and a 4g/L dosage deliver.
Aroma
Lemon zest and chalk lead, followed by lemon tart, nougat, and subtle toast — the focused, mineral, and quietly complex bouquet of a Chardonnay ripened slowly and evenly above 800 metres, with time on lees adding finesse without obscuring the cool-season purity.
Palate
Tight and precise — bright acidity, fine mousse, and a distinctive lemongrass-like freshness. Lean, focused, and energetic, with the tension and mineral line that the Whitlands Plateau’s cold nights and long growing season consistently deliver. A wine designed to elevate food rather than dominate it.
Pairs With
An exceptional partner for oysters, sashimi, grilled fish, and citrus-dressed shellfish — the wine’s acidity, precision, and savoury edge cut through richness and enhance delicate flavours with compelling effect. Equally at home as an aperitif or throughout a seafood-focused meal.
Finish
Long, clean, and lifted by saline energy — the lemon zest, chalk, and lemongrass freshness fading slowly and invitingly, leaving a mineral, precise close that makes every glass a genuinely food-driven experience.
