Winemaker Notes
Complex and elegant, with layers of pure, concentrated pear, citrus and stone fruit flavors, mouth-watering acidity and a tangy, mineral core.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Botanica Wines 2023 Citrusdal Mountain Chenin Blanc The Mary Delany Collection boasts a beautiful floral design on the front label, and those pretty graphics match the linear presentation and sharp fruit nuances of this bright South African white. White flower, plumeria, ponderosa lemon, summer peach and crushed stone lift from the bouquet. The mouthfeel has a creamy element that adds to the wine's mid-weight texture. These grapes are purchased from a vineyard planted in 1960 on their own roots near Clanwilliam in the Olifants River Valley in the Western Cape.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2023 The Botanica Wines MARY COLLECTION Chenin Blanc is a rich, yellow color opening with aromas of sun-dried stones and brisk minerality. On the palate, this wine exhibits rustic flavors making it a good pairing with steamed mussels accented with garlic and fresh thyme. (Tasted: October 20, 2025, San Francisco, CA)
Botanica Wines was founded in 2009 by owner and self-taught winemaker Ginny Povall, an intrepid American who fell in love with the beautiful Cape winelands, purchased Protea Heights farm in Stellenbosch’s Devon Valley and relocated to the southern tip of Africa in 2008. Established in the late 1940s, Protea Heights was the first farm in South Africa to cultivate indigenous protea flowers commercially. Inspired by this horticultural history, it was only natural that Ginny would choose to develop her wine brands and labels with a botanical flair.
Today the estate boasts eight varieties of proteas (four of which are hybridized species unique to the property), largely destined for export to Europe. The 21.6 hectare farm is planted with 10 hectares of indigenous flowers, which bloom throughout the year, and 5 hectares of organically farmed, high density vineyards. Planted between 2009 and 2010, the estate vines provide the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Albariño used to craft Botanica’s Arboretum, Big Flower and Flowergirl ranges.
Protea Heights is also home to Sugarbird Manor, a 4-star luxury guesthouse with nine modern guest rooms and suites and four loft-inspired cottages, offering the perfect winelands retreat.
The Protea Heights vineyards were established in 2009 and 2010, with high density plantings ranging from 5,600 – 10,100 vines per hectare. They are positioned primarily on cooler south to southeast facing slopes, at an altitude ranging from 200 to 250 meters above sea level. Cooling afternoon breezes from False Bay provide natural air conditioning for the vineyards during the warm summer months, cooling the temperatures by an average 10+ degrees. The vineyards were converted to organic farming practices in 2014.
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.
South Africa’s most famous wine-producing district, Stellenbosch, surrounds the historic town with the same name; fine winemaking here dates back to the late 1600s. Its valleys of granite, sandstone and alluvial loam soils between the towering blue-grey mountains of Stellenbosch, Simonsberg and Helderberg have the capacity to produce beautiful wines from many varieties. The climate is warm Mediterranean, tempered by the cool Atlantic air of nearby False Bay.
Perhaps most well-known for its Pinotage and Bordeaux blends, Stellenbosch also produces noteworthy wines from Syrah, Chenin blanc, Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. The district’s wards—Banghoek, Bottelary, Devon Valley, Jonkershoek Valley, Papegaaiberg, Polkadraai Hills and Simonsberg-Stellenbosch—all produce distinctive wines from vines with relatively low yields.