Lautus

Chardonnay

WineChardonnay

Lautus Chardonnay
Image courtesy of the producer

86/100

The short take

Soft creamy weight and a nutty, lightly bittersweet close give this Chardonnay more presence than the Sauvignon Blanc. Fruit and oak stay in balance; conventional richness is still out of reach, but the likeness holds.

Tasted Karl HillHow we score

Serve Chilled, not ice-cold, in a white-wine glass.

Who it’s for A still white at the table — roast chicken, mild cheese, or a chilled glass before dinner.

TDS Wineprint

This pour · documented production

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In the glass

Nose
Peach, orange, and yellow apple with a light oak note — orchard fruit first, wood as a frame, not a butter bomb.
Palate
Pear and citrus with vanilla and soft creamy weight. Broader through the middle than the Lautus Sauvignon Blanc, without tipping into heavy sweetness.
Finish
Fresh, lightly nutty and bittersweet — acidity keeps the close clean rather than sugary.
Structure and likeness Show Hide

Structure

Sweetness
Acidity
Body
Finish length
Carbonation

How wine-like is it?

Separate from the score. A convincing resemblance is not a higher rating.

Very good: peach, apple, and light oak read as Chardonnay, not generic nonalcoholic white.

The wine

Soft creamy weight is the argument. Pear, citrus, and vanilla sit on a broader middle than the Lautus Sauvignon Blanc — still medium-light, but the texture has somewhere to go. That creaminess does not tip into butter bomb; it fills the space alcohol usually occupies just enough to feel like Chardonnay rather than a thin white.

The nose leads with peach, orange, and yellow apple, oak kept light. On the palate the citrus stays bright beside the vanilla; fruit and oak stay in conversation rather than one drowning the other. The finish is fresh, nutty, and lightly bittersweet — acidity closing the glass instead of sugar.

Chill it, but not to ice. Too cold and the creamy middle goes mute; too warm and the bittersweet edge of the finish sharpens. Conventional Chardonnay richness and length are still missing. Presence and likeness are not: this is the most complete of the three Lautus stills in this tasting, and it drinks like the variety on purpose.

86 sits above the median of the 29 dealcoholized Chardonnay bottles we've tasted.

The bottle

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Where to buy

Lautus

Buy from producer

Package

750 ml

Typical price

$19.99 / 750 ml

Availability observations
PackageObserved listingPriceUnit price
750 mlObserved at Lautus$19.99

Checked 22 Sep 2026

$19.99
Availability

us.drinklautus.com (US); drinklautus.com (South Africa)

Availability is market-specific; a producer link does not establish shipping to every country. Prices and availability are independently observed and may change. Retailer listings do not imply endorsement. A different package is labeled as a different format. Reader-service exceptions and commercial links are identified above; neither affects scores, rankings, classification, verification, or editorial coverage.

Product facts

Producer
Lautus (Reg Holder)
Origin
Western Cape, South Africa
Residual sugar
3.2 g / 100 ml residual sugar
Bottle / can
750 ml

Ingredients & nutrition

Ingredients
De-alcoholised Chardonnay wine (vegan-friendly; low residual sugar)Verified from producer documentation · Oct 2026
Calories
16 cal per 5 oz serving (US producer PDP); 16 kcal / 100 ml (ZA producer PDP)

Tasting notes are opinion. Facts are printed only when a source supports them. Scores are not for sale, and a sample does not guarantee a review.

How we score and verify · Send a correction

Cite Karl Hill, “Lautus Chardonnay,” The Dry Standard, September 22, 2026, https://drinkdrystandard.com/reviews/wine/lautus-chardonnay/. 86/100.

Sources disagree on Sugar and Calories. Send a correction

Sources & verification

Facts checked Oct 2026 4 primary sources Method: documented Conflicts: 2 noted Show details Hide details

Where sources disagree

Sources disagree on the following points.

  • Sugar: US PDP lists 3.2 g / 100 ml residual sugar; ZA PDP lists 2.6 / 100 ml. Sugar field keeps the US figure; no resolved value.
  • Calories: US PDP lists 16 cal per 5 oz; ZA PDP lists 16 kcal / 100 ml. Different serving bases — both recorded in calories.

Evidence at a glance

  • Producer documented8 facts
  • Bottle verified1 fact
  • Unverified4 facts

Production record

One core fact remains to be documented or rechecked.

Classification
Verified
Method
Named method
ABV
Ceiling declaration
Origin
Documented
Record
Has open discrepancy

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Sources

Additional sources

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Product record history Sourced changes and open disagreements. Prior claims stay on the record when sources conflict.
  1. ReviewedReviewed and published.
  2. UpdatedCatalog record updated from sourced research.
  3. OpenDiscrepancySugar and Calories.

Structure

Closest by structure

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Production

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