A wine with energy and intensity. The high-toned, rapier-like lime fruit is buoyed with sharp ginger, white pepper and flint. Crushed stones and saltiness sustain the refreshing appeal. Good weight of flavour in the mid palate boosted with bright acidity and grippy texture.

Southend is a single vineyard wine that lies in the shadow of the Babylonstoring Mountains in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and is owned and farmed by Newton Johnson neighbours, the Pringle family. It is a notably cooler slope, a stone's throw across the river from Newton Johnson, with less sunshine and consequently slower ripening. It produces wines with sparkling clarity, high-toned fruit flavours, compact structure, and vibrant acidity. These features are preserved by fermenting in larger format casks that often ferment slowly into the winter. This parcel takes a steely and light-footed point of difference from the other Chardonnay vineyards of this appellation.

"The 2022 Southend Chardonnay offers peach, lemon and apple aromas with hints of flint and reduction on the nose. Medium-bodied, the palate is elegant and balanced, featuring fresh acidity and a touch of sea spray, enhancing its crispness. The wine has a citrus and mineral-driven finish, providing a clean and refreshing aftertaste. Matured for 11 months with 11% new oak, this vintage produced 32,370 bottles. The Southend Chardonnay is a finely crafted wine showcasing a harmonious blend of fruit and minerality. Drink to 2033."
91 points.
Anthony Mueller, The Wine Advocate (May 2024)

"A brush of butterscotch on the nose and then a flood of defined, intentional fruit and the most beautifully tailored acidity – crisp collar and seam. Another Newton Johnson with fantastic length. Coast-flora herbaceousness but the fruit is lush and deep: oranges, papaya, yuzu. A fabulous, firm, emphatic finish. I tasted this last year and can only say that in the extra year it’s taken on timbre and pitch. Drink to 2032."
17 points.
Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com (October 2024)