Winemaker Notes
The 2021 Chenin Blanc is a lively wine with zippy flavors of guava, creamy pineapple, pink lady apples and melon. The wine has the kind of texture you want from a good Chenin, with a long finish and enough acid to keep it vibrant. The wine has a full nose of tropical fruit leading onto limes and apricots on the palate. A truly complex white wine, with only a few thousand bottles produced. With regards to aging potential, this wine should be drunk within 5-7 years of the vintage.
The 2021 vintage is delicious on its own, but has tons of flavors, making it a versatile partner for many different dishes including Thai food, curries, and pulled pork.
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.