Winemaker Notes
Babylonstoren Chenin Blanc 2023 is a pale yellow color. Intriguing white peach and ripe pineapple fragrance with underlying lemon curd, which makes this wine hard to resist. Silky smooth entrance reveals many layers of supple fruit handled with care to retain the intrinsic chenin personality at its best. Beautifully balanced with a delicious streak of acidity which brings freshness and focus to the palate.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Presenting classic aromas of Meyer lemon, yellow apple and wax melon, the 2023 Chenin Blanc is fresh, ripe and bright. The medium-bodied palate displays a delightful supporting lift from soft phenolic bitterness. A ripe frame of yellow citrus precedes succulent acidity and a balanced structure. The Chenin Blanc ends with a fresh, clean, crisp finish.
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Tasting Panel
Delicate notes of linen and lemon sorbet with a hint of thyme show on the crisp and clean palate, giving way to a finish of powdered vanilla and pineapple.
Unquestionably one of the most diverse grape varieties, Chenin Blanc can do it all. It shines in every style from bone dry to unctuously sweet, oaked or unoaked, still or sparkling and even as the base for fortified wines and spirits. Perhaps Chenin Blanc’s greatest asset is its ever-present acidity, maintained even under warm growing conditions. Somm Secret—Landing in South Africa in the mid 1800s, today the country has double the acreage of Chenin Blanc planted compared to France. There is also a new wave of dedicated producers committed to restoring old Chenin vines.
Flanked by majestic mountains on either side, the Paarl district is a valley whose most valuable water source is the Berg River. While sometimes during dry and hot summers, the vineyards in the valley need supplemental irrigation, those vineyards on the eastern slopes where water retention is better, aren't irrigated.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage, Shiraz, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc enjoy great success in Paarl.