A glass of wine resting on a low dry-stone wall at the edge of a vineyard block, the Cape

Wine Education20 October 20264 min read

The Chenin Blanc grape explained, with three Cape bottles

By South African Wines

What Chenin Blanc tastes like and how winemaking changes it, explained through three bottles from Robertson and the Swartland.

The Chenin Blanc grape makes white wine with high natural acidity and fruit that moves from green apple and lemon when picked early to pear, peach and pineapple as the bunches ripen further. That acidity runs through every style the grape produces. A Chenin can be fermented in steel and drunk young, rounded with oak, blended with a more perfumed grape or left to hang for sweet wine, and it still tastes fresh.

In South Africa it grows in places as different as the dry, unirrigated hills of the Swartland and the irrigated riverbanks of Robertson. The three bottles in this piece show how much the vineyard and the cellar change one variety. If you learn best by tasting, our guide to spotting Chenin Blanc one glass at a time works well alongside this one.

The grape on its own, with no oak

Start with Klippenkop Chenin Blanc, because the winemaking adds almost nothing to the grape. The fruit comes from a co-operative of growers across Robertson, a warm valley in the Western Cape with lime-rich soils and drip irrigation drawn from the Breede River. The vine rows run north-west to south-east to catch the sea breeze, which cools the bunches.

The grapes go through a pneumatic bag press, which squeezes gently so only the most delicate juice runs off. Fermentation takes about eighteen days in stainless steel held at thirteen degrees. The wine is made reductively, meaning it is kept away from oxygen throughout so the fresh fruit flavours stay intact, and it sees no oak at all.

What reaches the glass is the grape's orchard fruit and acidity with nothing layered over them. That acidity cuts through batter, so fish and chips with a wedge of lemon is an easy match, and cold-smoked salmon on brown bread works for the same reason.

Bush vines, wild yeast and a touch of oak

The Den Chenin Blanc shows the grape from a hotter, drier place. It comes from the Swartland, north of Cape Town, where these vines are grown as bush vines: pruned low on a single trunk with no trellis, standing on their own roots and never irrigated. Without a drip line the roots push deep for water, yields stay low and the fruit gains concentration and a savoury edge.

The winemaking adds two things the Klippenkop goes without. A small amount of Viognier lifts the aroma with stone fruit and flowers, and a touch of oak rounds the texture, so the wine feels creamy in the middle and finishes crisp. Fermentation in tank uses the natural yeasts that arrive on the grapes, a slower route that leaves more of the fruit's own character in the wine.

Painted Wolf is run by Emma and Jeremy Borg, and Jeremy worked at Fairview in Paarl before they set up on their own. The label is named after the African wild dog and supports its conservation. Drink this one on release and over the following two to three years, with pan-fried sea bass and brown butter or a Thai green curry with prawns, where the fruit is weighty enough to hold its own against the spice.

Chenin Blanc in a blend

Chenin's acidity makes it a useful partner for grapes that bring perfume and softness with less freshness of their own. Lo & Behold Chenin Viognier is built on that idea. Viognier leads the grape list, with Chenin Blanc and Grenache also named, and the vineyards sit on sandstone soils in the Swartland, where warm days and cool nights build ripe stone fruit while keeping the acidity fresh.

Each part is made separately. Most of the Chenin ferments with its own yeasts in stainless steel and a small share goes into old French oak barrels, enough to add texture without any taste of wood. The Viognier ferments in cement tanks, which keeps its scent and softens its edges, and the components are blended shortly before bottling.

Serve it at 9°C and drink it within two to three years of the vintage, because the Viognier perfume fades as the bottle ages. The extra aroma suits herbs and gentle spice, so it sits well beside an aubergine and chickpea curry or pork loin with apple and sage.

Sauvignon Blanc vs Chenin Blanc

The two are easy to confuse because both make crisp, dry whites, and the difference shows in the flavour family. Sauvignon Blanc smells green and sharp, of cut grass and gooseberry. Chenin Blanc tastes of apple and pear first, then peach and pineapple from warmer sites, and it carries more texture across the middle of the mouth, so it takes oak and blending well.

With food, pick Chenin. Its rounder fruit stands up to pork, cream sauces and mild curries, and its acidity still cuts through fat, so the Klippenkop handles roast pork with crackling and apple sauce comfortably. Sauvignon is the better choice with asparagus or a fresh goat's cheese, where its green edge matches the green in the food.

Poured side by side, the Klippenkop and The Den show what Swartland bush vines and a touch of oak add to the same grape, and the creamier texture of The Den is obvious from the first mouthful. Both sit with every other bottle of the grape we carry on our South African Chenin Blanc page.

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The Chenin Blanc grape explained, with three Cape bottles

The grape on its own, with no oak

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