Cape Town - We grow more chenin in the Cape than is found in its home territory, the Loire valley of France.
While many hectares of Cape chenin end up as base wine for brandy, more and more vineyards are being nurtured to produce exemplary fruit as chenin casts aside its Cinderella image.
Today the cultivar is a source of exciting whites, seductive dessert wines, stylish bubblies and plays a major role in stellar blends.
Vintage vineyards – that, happily, escaped uprooting – have been tenderly resurrected to produce quality chenins with backbone and flavour intensity that surpass expectations. It’s easy to find fine chenins, wooded and unwooded, in a variety of styles from around a dozen regions.
The Chenin Blanc Association is a vibrant organisation, chaired by Ken Forrester, ably assisted by manager Ina Smith and volunteers such as public relations officer Nicolette Waterford. They organised the first Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge, which saw 126 wines assessed blind by a panel of local and overseas judges headed by Christian Eedes.
The winning cellars were Bellingham, Kleine Zalze, KWV, Perdeberg, Remhoogte, Rijk’s, Simonsig, Spier, Stellenrust and Villiera. Thanks to Standard Bank sponsorship the contest will be an annual event.
To explore and celebrate the diversity of the grape, Jeff Grier of Villiera and panel meet twice a year to choose chenins for the Winter and Summer Showcases. The former sees richer, mostly oaked wines in contrast to summery chenins that are lighter and fresher.
Consumers who have not moved beyond sauvignon blanc and chardonnay are missing out big time: in the past chenin was associated with insipid boxed white blends and the perception of inferior quality lingers in some quarters. Try a few of the winning chenins this festive season, choosing unwooded if you prefer light fruity examples.
For a festive meal that includes gourmet ingredients like duck liver pâté, richly sauced shellfish and luxurious finales, go for a rich, wooded chenin. With a few exceptions, you will pay less than you would for a comparable chardonnay.
Guide offers essentials on all things wining
Changes implemented in the 2015 Platter’s wine guide are not likely to affect consumers in their quest for knowledge and opinion, although some will miss the information on wineland restaurants and accommodation.
A few paid-for entries feature in the online edition, but a mere 17 restaurants across the Western Cape add up to a paltry menu.
For the rest, new owners Diners Club wisely stay with the familiar format, an alphabetical list of 961 producers and merchants and their 7 000 wines. They are still rated, although, to save space, wines scoring less than four stars are not described, but all wines will be accompanied by notes in the electronic edition.
The 50 five-star wines were selected through blind tastings. Sadie Family Wines is the Winery of the year, De Trafford Blueprint Syrah 2012 is the Red Wine of the Year with DeMorgenzon Reserve Chardonnay 2013 taking White Wine honours.
Philip van Zyl remains the praiseworthy editor, heading a team responsible for 650 pages of contemporary facts and figures, regional maps and opinion on quality.
The pocket guide, selling at R195, is as essential a reference tool as ever, while those who prefer online reading can get full access for R99.99 a year.
Weekend Argus