No wine is created in a vacuum. By the time you pour into your glass, the vintage you’re
drinking bears the marks of the soil that grew the vines, the sun, rains and wind that shaped
it, the hands that tended the vineyard, the mind that ushered the grapes into the cellar and
the intuition and talent of the winemaker who sought to translate the rare and singular
character of the wine that transpired.
Throughout June, the Lozärn Wines team was proud to join the world in celebrating
Environmental Awareness, with World Environment Day having fallen on the 5 th , and
International Climate Change Day featuring on the 21 st . The role we play as stewards of the
soil on the farms we are fortunate enough to tend has taught us the value of sustainable
farming practices and caring for the fauna and flora with which we share these spaces. We
also like to think that you can taste our careful tending on the land in our wines.
Part science, part alchemy, the processes of creating Lozärn Chardonnay 2019 all started in
the deep red clay soils of Doornbosch farm in Bonnievale and the iron-laced koffieklip and
weathered Karoo soils of Klipbosch farm in Robertson, from where the grapes were sourced
respectively. Each soil type left a distinct imprint on the grapes that grew from it.
Iron gives a lot of structure and concentration to white wines like Chardonnay. Clay
soils, on the other hand, retain lots moisture in winter, which is then released
sporadically throughout the dry summer months, resulting in cooler soils and a
slower ripening process that yields Chardonnays that are rounder, bolder, more
generous and with a stronger colour from deeper extraction.
To achieve optimum varietal expression in a cloak of rich complexity, winemaker
Salome Buys-Vermeulen chose to combine 60% of the unwooded juice that was
sourced from the clay-based Bonnievale soils, with 40% of the juice from the iron-
based Robertson soils that went into second and third-fill French oak barrels to be
matured for 9 months.
This beautiful balancing act resulted in a bold, yet elegant vintage featuring a
creamy, textured palate alive with the comforting scents that might waft from a
bustling farm kitchen on baking day.
“The first time I poured Lozärn Chardonnay 2019 into my glass, I was intrigued by
the almost familiar aromas I encountered,” says Salome. “As I lingered on the
thought, it dawned on me and I was transported to a late afternoon one autumn
when I strolled through a lemon orchard. It was the scent of those new blooms, softly
layered with vanilla pod – a memory from my grandmother's kitchen – that lay infused
in the buttery fullness of the wine on my palate.”
Eco-conscious wine lovers can also rest assured that, like all of our other vintages, it
is 100% vegan-friendly. This means that no animal-derived products were used
during the winemaking process. Instead, plant-based fining and filtering agents were
sourced to coax sulphur levels into balance, clear the wine of pesky proteins and
remove other incidental compounds before aging and maturation. By using pea protein and bentonite clay instead of animal-derived products in these processes,
we’re taking another vital step towards sustainability and ensuring that we tread
lightly on the earth.
Lozärn Chardonnay 2019 is a foodie wine through and through – a gallant and
audacious vintage that can be paired with hearty winter dishes without fading into the
background.
