Blanc de blancs: South Africa's pure Chardonnay sparklers

Blanc de blancs means white from whites. It is sparkling wine made only from white grapes, almost always Chardonnay, with no red grapes blended in. That restriction is the whole idea: nothing to hide behind, just Chardonnay put through a second fermentation in the bottle.

Champagne invented the style. South Africa has got very good at it without making much noise. Cap Classique follows the same traditional method, and the wines regularly cost half what an equivalent Champagne does.

Why the Cape suits it

Cool-climate sites do the work. Stellenbosch, Robertson in the Breede River Valley, and the Walker Bay area all provide the conditions Chardonnay needs for sparkling: ocean air to keep temperatures moderate, and long dry summers that let the fruit ripen slowly while holding the sharp acidity good bubbles depend on.

There is also a useful lack of pretension. Cape producers are not trying to reproduce Champagne. The wines tend to show more fruit intensity than their French equivalents, with apple and citrus that speak up early rather than needing a decade to make sense.

How it is made

It starts with gently pressed Chardonnay, often whole-cluster, taking only the cleanest juice. The first fermentation makes a still wine that is deliberately tart and fairly unremarkable on its own.

Then yeast and sugar go into each bottle, a mixture called the tirage, and a second fermentation begins. The carbon dioxide it produces has nowhere to go, which is where the bubbles come from. The wine then sits on its lees, the spent yeast cells, for months or years, and that contact is what builds the biscuity, brioche character underneath the fruit.

Finally the sediment is removed in a step called disgorgement, a small dose of sugar solution balances the acidity, and the bottle is corked.

What to expect

Good Cape blanc de blancs balances freshness against richness. Green apple, lemon zest and white flowers on the nose, often with fresh bread or almond from the lees. The palate is crisp, with fine bubbles and a creamy texture rather than an aggressive fizz.

Laborie Blanc de Blancs at £17.29 is the straightforward introduction and very hard to fault at the price. Wildeberg Météorique Blanc de Blancs at £18.99 is the more characterful of the two.

Younger examples are bright and fruit-led, which suits an aperitif or light seafood. Wines with longer lees ageing pick up toasted nuts, honey and a mineral edge, and can handle richer food.

What to drink it with

The acidity cuts through rich dishes while the fruit stays out of the way, which makes this one of the more useful bottles to have cold.

Oysters are the classic match. Smoked salmon, crab cakes or grilled prawns all work as well. Soft cheeses are good, whether a creamy goat's cheese, brie or fresh mozzarella, because they bring out the mineral side.

It also handles Asian food better than most wines, so sushi, dim sum or a Thai salad are all sensible. And fish and chips, which sounds like a joke and is not.

Why buy Cape rather than Champagne

Quality South African blanc de blancs sits around £15 to £30. Comparable Champagne starts near £40 and rises quickly. You are not trading quality for price so much as buying from producers who learned the method without inheriting the overheads.

If you want to explore the wider category, MCC Zero Dosage at £29 shows how bone dry the style can get, Nederburg Cuvée Brut at £14.89 is the everyday option, and Darling Cellars Cap Classique Nectar at £13.49 is a Chenin-based sparkling for anyone who prefers a softer finish. There is also Laborie Rosé NV at £17.99 if you want the pink version.

When to open it

This is not exclusively an occasion wine. Keep a bottle cold for when people turn up unannounced, and save the more complex, longer-aged examples for the things that warrant them.

Most are built to drink within two to five years of release, though the best will go a decade. If you are curious how they develop, buy several and open one a year.

Where to start

Begin with something uncomplicated that shows the style rather than testing your patience with it. Once you know what you like, work across regions: coastal sites lean towards mineral precision, inland areas towards riper fruit.

Our full South African sparkling wines range is one of the better value corners of the shop, and it sits alongside the South African Chardonnay selection if you want the still version of the same grape. Delivered anywhere in the UK.