Winemaker Notes
The wine o?ers a complex nose showing quince, white peach and yellow apple, with fenugreek spices give more dimension alongside the mineral intensity of the wine. The stone fruit character follows through onto an exceptionally balanced, very delicate and fine textured palate showing a peach-melba character with an exquisite length and freshness. The wine lingers with hints of ripe nectarine and apricot, zesty lemon and wet chalk.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This cool white shows honey, sliced apples and hints of hazelnuts and salted butter on the nose. It’s medium- to full-bodied, textured and layered, with a delicious combination of fruit and salty, savory flavors. Drink now or hold. Screw cap.
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Vinous
The 2024 Chenin Blanc Old Vine is fermented half in 300 and 500-litre used oak barrels and half in stainless steel, blended after 11 months. Slightly darker in hue than the "Original", this is very pure on the nose, beautifully defined with dried honey commingling with lemon verbena and hints of lanolin. The palate is very well balanced with a keen line of acidity, a little more tensile and energetic compared to the Old Vine cuvée, with a healthy dash of lemongrass on the finish. Excellent.
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.