Lourensford Estate has unveiled the debut vintages of its elegant new flagships, the Chrysalis Red Blend 2015 and Chrysalis White Blend 2015. This is the culmination of years of dedication and passion to capture the essence of Lourensford’s unique terroir in a wine.
Cellarmaster Hannes Nel explained that ever since joining Lourensford he had dreamt of making a wine that was the ultimate expression of the Estate, irrespective of the choice of grape varieties: “We began our Chrysalis journey with no preconceived ideas of what wine we were ultimately going to make. These uniquely Lourensford blends are the result of years of experimentation, learning and patience.”
Made with minimal intervention from grapes of selected site-specific vines, only a limited quantity is bottled following intensive barrel selection and meticulous blending – 2517 bottles of the Chrysalis Red Blend 2015 and 1412 bottles of the Chrysalis White Blend 2015.
Explaining the symbolism of the name for the flagship range, Nel said: “Nothing demonstrates the evolution of these wines better than the remarkable metamorphosis of the tiny chrysalis. For me the bottle symbolizes the pupa with the beautiful butterfly developing inside. Pouring the wine into your glass releases the rare butterfly, completing the metamorphosis of grapes into a wine of intense complexity.”
Lourensford General Manager Koos Jordaan said that the launch of Chrysalis also celebrates the metamorphosis of the picturesque Estate in Somerset West. “From our beginnings as an unknown fruit farm to the world class wine producer and ‘must-visit’ destination that we are today.”
Available from the Lourensford tasting room from Monday to Sunday 9am until 5pm, the Chrysalis Red Blend 2015 will retail for R430 and the Chrysalis White Blend will retail at R300.
