Winemaker Notes
Named after our grandmother, Hope Marguerite Beaumont, this barrel fermented and matured Chenin Blanc is always elegant and complex. Beaumont's old vine Chenin Blanc is naturally fermented in 400L French oak. Beautiful aromas of dried apricot, marzipan and spice with hints of green apple and integrated oak on the palate. This is a pure expression of our flagship Chenin.
Matches brilliantly with seafood especially scallops and any beautifully spicy Asian dish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Some of the chenin vines that contribute to this wine date to the founding of this estate in 1974; Sebastian Beaumont now manages the family’s 84 acres of vineyards on the western side of the Bot River valley, five miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The wine has a pure chenin character, with notes of bruised apple, juicy blood orange and apricot. Grown in shale soils, it offers a flinty, reductive note, holding tart, crisp and clean.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Hope Marguerite Chenin Blanc seems very shy on the nose, and it should develop beautifully over the next few years. The palate is pure and ripe, with a clean, fresh citrus core. There is a soft, white powdery minerally expression that is very pleasing with a medium finish. The wine is balanced with soft floral tones that linger on the aftertaste. This wine was fermented naturally in neutral oak barrels and comes from their two oldest vineyards. The Hope Marguerite bottling honors their grandmother and is named after her. 17,500 bottles made. Rating 90+
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.
With an important wine renaissance in full swing, impressive red and white bargains abound in South Africa. The country has a particularly long and rich history with winemaking, especially considering its status as part of the “New World.” In the mid-17th century, the lusciously sweet dessert wines of Constantia were highly prized by the European aristocracy. Since then, the South African wine industry has experienced some setbacks due to the phylloxera infestation of the late 1800s and political difficulties throughout the following century.
Today, however, South Africa is increasingly responsible for high-demand, high-quality wines—a blessing to put the country back on the international wine map. Wine production is mainly situated around Cape Town, where the climate is generally warm to hot. But the Benguela Current from Antarctica provides brisk ocean breezes necessary for steady ripening of grapes. Similarly, cooler, high-elevation vineyard sites throughout South Africa offer similar, favorable growing conditions.
South Africa’s wine zones are divided into region, then smaller districts and finally wards, but the country’s wine styles are differentiated more by grape variety than by region. Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, is the country’s “signature” grape, responsible for red-fruit-driven, spicy, earthy reds. When Pinotage is blended with other red varieties, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah or Pinot Noir (all commonly vinified alone as well), it is often labeled as a “Cape Blend.” Chenin Blanc (locally known as “Steen”) dominates white wine production, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc following close behind.