2021 Storm "Ridge" Hemel en Aarde Ridge Chardonnay

The story of Storm begins with Hamilton Russell, which if you ask any sommelier, remains one of the best priced Chardonnays on the planet and is the winery to which Storm owes a good piece of their success. Hamilton Russell is the original renegade winery that established a worldwide reputation for Hemel-en-Aarde ("Heaven and Earth") Valley as the home of South Africa's greatest Burgundian wines. Hannes Storm was the head winemaker at Hamilton Russell for many years before beginning this "bijou" winery that owns less than 10 hectares of total land in 2012. Hannes Storm makes five wines in total, three Pinot Noirs and two Chardonnays. For the nerds out there he's actually the only producer to make single vineyard expressions of Pinot Noir from all three subregions of Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. There's no commercially valid reason to do something so bold. Hannes Storm lives and breathes for a discussion of terroir. He claims to have no plans to expand. "Small is beautiful," he says. The Pino