92pts James Suckling

A toasty and flavorful chardonnay that has chopped nuts, buttered toast and ripe stone fruit on the nose, followed by a fresh, balanced and full-bodied palate. Sustainable. Delicious now. Screw cap.

90pts Vinous

The 2023 Chardonnay is a blend of subregions around Stellenbosch that is made in Rustenberg's "house" style and designed to have wide appeal. Barrel-fermented and aged in 20% new oak for 20 months, it offers lemon sherbet, yuzu and hints of apricot on the nose, all nicely focused and delineated. The palate is well balanced with a slightly creamy texture, fine acidity and admirable purity, presenting hints of tropical fruit on the finish. Nicely controlled with ample length, this is unbeatable value for money.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The Rustenberg 2023 Stellenbosch Chardonnay opens to light tones of citrus, vanilla custard and sweet almond. The wine is medium-lean in texture and ends with refreshing acidity and lingering mineral tones. This is an ample production of 248,000 bottles under screw cap. Fruit is sourced from various sites and fermented in barrel with 20% new oak. It stays in barrel for 10 months with frequent steering of the lees and is blended at the end.

Tasting Notes

Apricot, coconut and orange peel aromas followed by flavours of marzipan, sponge cake and citrus rounded off with carefully judged oak and balanced, fresh acidity
Aging Potential 8+years from vintage under ideal cellaring conditions.

Winemaker Notes

A traditionally made, barrel fermented Chardonnay, the Rustenberg Stellenbosch Chardonnay is a combination of complexing factors from the vineyard, wild yeast and careful barrel age, aiming for balance and expression in each vintage.

Winery Notes

Rustenberg has a wine-growing history dating back to 1682, when Roelof Pasman from Meurs, near the Rhine, recognised its wine-growing potential. By 1781 some 3000 cases of wine were produced on the farm. Production doubled by the end of the century and a new cellar was built. Wine has been bottled at this cellar for an unbroken period since 1892.

In the early 1800s Rustenberg was divided by owner Jacob Eksteen and a section was given to his son-in-law, who named it Schoongezicht and sold it soon after. Rustenberg and Schoongezicht were at their peak around 1812, with beautiful homesteads and flourishing vineyards. But by mid-century, recession coupled with disease in the vines, brought bankruptcy and dispossession.

Schoongezicht was rescued in 1892 by John X Merriman (who was to become Prime Minister of the Cape), and Rustenberg by his brother-in-law Sir Jacob Barry. Together they revitalised the farms. Fruit was sent to Covent Garden; new vines were grafted onto disease-resistant American rootstock; wines were exported to England and the Continent – and even found in Siberia.

In 1941 Peter and Pamela Barlow bought Rustenberg, later acquiring Schoongezicht and reuniting the properties. Their son Simon took over the running of the farm in 1987. Simon’s son, Murray, joined in the running of the farm with his father in 2012. The Barlows have been at Rustenberg for over 80 years: the longest period any one family has owned the farm.