Stellenbosch sun in a bottle of wine

Stellenbosch is synonymous with sophisticated red wines, and Thelema, poised against the South Easterly side of the Simonsberg Mountain, is exemplary. Yet, with some of the highest elevations here, Chardonnay’s intricacies and sought-after luminosity are also captured on decomposed granite.

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All the fruit is estate grown and harvested by hand to ensure the best quality.

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Thelema is a family-owned and run business with its finger on the pulse throughout the value chain.

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The mesmerising setting has earned the estate committed followers, poised against the slopes of Simonsberg with spectacular views of the mountains and vineyards.

“I love the fact that they are now selling the 2018 vintage. Time added an elegant maturing to the wine, boosting its volume and length, while there is plenty primary fruit taking the wine much further.” – Samarie Smith DipWSET.

TIPS FOR MATCHMAKING THE THELEMA CHARDONNAY 2018 WITH AN ORIENTAL CARROT SOUP.

The recipe is our creation, and we like to serve it, weather and dependent, warm, or chilled.
Carrots have a natural earthiness and a more delicate fragrance than their soup sibling, butternut, and it is also lighter in calories.
Roasting your carrots will add more depth, helping the dish stand its ground against the textural richness of the wine.
Boiling the carrots in good chicken stock as we did, enhances the unctuous texture in the wine, adding a perceived sweetness.
Carrot soup and Chardonnay is a match made in heaven as the creamy coconut cream base joins forces with the wine’s silky texture but still takes a back seat to let the wine take the lead.
A spoon of peanut butter added to the soup echoes the nutty character the wine is hemmed with, intensifying the flavours.
Chardonnay is not an aromatic variety per se, and spicy aromas can quickly derail it. Yet, a pinch of cayenne pepper only fires up the back of your palate as an afterthought when the wine fades away. The bit of heat also disrupts the monotony of a creamy, thick soup.
Feel free to add a squeeze of orange juice, as lemons’ acidity might subdue the brightness in the wine.
Now let’s add fresh basil. It is an absolute must with a soup like this as it stresses the importance of a savoury, saline quality of the Chardonnay. Fresh basil also adds a cool crunch to the wine, the same character that capers add to beef tartare paired with Chardonnay.
All in all – it’s a contemporary pairing with a pinch of sentiment and wholesomeness as a trusted favourite pairing.

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Our Experience

Gyles Webb abandoned his accounting career to become a winemaker, and in 1983, with the help of his wife’s family, the McLean’s, Webb bought Thelema. The phoenix on the label symbolizes the birth of their family legacy, present on both sides of the Thelema family. The McLeans owned the Phoenix Garden Hotel in Kimberley, and there is a phoenix on the Webb family crest. The family restored the Manor House and released the first Thelema wine in 1988. As they became a leading producer of classic wines, Webb bought an additional property to establish a second vineyard in Elgin, bringing the best of two worlds to their cellar.

The Thelema Chardonnay 2020 is unequivocally a wine for summer and winter

and a silver-lemon lining for Stellenbosch Chardonnay that is often compared to more plush yellow fruit and blue, orange aromas.

The wine only shares subtle nuances if poured too cold but quickly wakes up with a mesmerizing offering of young nectarine, crunchy peach, and that nostalgic scent of loquat. The memory of picking these round fruits of the trees as we walked home from school is an emotional connection I have with Chardonnay and probably also why we serve Chardonnay with meaty stew. But this illustrates the versatility of Chardonnay, and if you spend time with the Thelema Chardonnay, you will unravel more subtleties.

Lemon three ways is a beautiful aroma attribute of this wine with lemon curd, lemon zest, and lemon florals circling like a flock of birds on the surface before it pulls your attention to what awaits in the middle – pure, fleshy fruit. As the wine warms up, there are nuances of green pineapple and kiwi communicating a sense of place as well as a cooler microclimate wrapped up in its bright acidity. The judicious mix of 30% new and then third and fourth fill barrels grant the fruit its opening act, adding sweet notes of vanilla bean warm scones.

On entry, the wine has a delightful fruit sweetness, reigned in with a brisk acidity. The wine then ventures to every corner of your mouth and a tangy-savoury mouthfeel completes the circle. Albeit not big in terms of plusher, creamier wines, the power lies in its luminosity and the way this carries the fruit to the end with a long, lingering finish.

The wine elegantly disappears at the back of your palate, like a friend looking over their shoulder, sharing a quick wave, before disappearing around the corner.