Published by Jeremy.
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If there are elements of a white wine that we do not enjoy too much, it would be overuse of oak and/or malolactic fermentation to the point that it overshadows the flavors of the base wine.
A little? Great! A lot? We really aren't into it.
Meerlust's Chardonnay out of South Africa was one such bottle, and we honestly wish it was just a bit more restrained in the oak here. This one packs a punch!
Oak Dominant South African Chardonnay
This South African Chardonnay was deep lemon in color with medium aromas of pear, yellow apple, apricot, peach, grapefruit, white blossom, nectarine, toast, butter, and almond.
On the palate, it was dry with medium acidity and alcohol, medium(+) body and flavor intensity, and a long finish. We had flavors similar to the aromas with lemon, lime, wet stone, yellow apple, pear, nectarine, butter, and toast being present.
In both aromas and flavor, this one was pretty heavy on the oak notes in particular. That said, we would note that this one was a bit stronger on the aromas and less-so on the palate (which was welcomed!); however, the wine itself lacked a bit of nuance in the other flavors.
Chardonnay Food Pairing – Miso Broiled Sablefish
We paired this South African Chardonnay with sablefish that was broiled with a miso soy sauce glaze. We had hoped for a bit lighter oak and malo character in this wine, as we often expect with higher quality South African Chardonnay, and thought it would go nicely with the richness of the miso.
Although the oak was a bit too strong for our liking, the fruit flavors did hold up well with this dish and we would likely try this pairing again with a different, more restrained bottle.
Score: 2 / 5
We're okay on this one.
Overall, this is one of those wines that is more our preference than anything, because we really don't like too intensely oaky white wines. If this is your palate, you may find this one a bit more enjoyable than we did. As such, we're okay on this one.
Meerlust is located at 33 Baden Powell Dr in Stellenbosch, South Africa. We purchased this wine on Wine.com and enjoyed it in 2025.
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