Aloe Tree Chenin Blanc
£9.69
£12.92 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
In Stock — 14 bottles available
Swartland Chenin Blanc at its most charming and easy-going. Aromatic guava and orange blossom leap from the glass, leading into a dry, fruit-driven palate of ripe apple, peach and a twist of orange peel. Unoaked, crisp, and brilliantly versatile, the kind of bottle you'll happily reach for on a Tuesday or a Saturday.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
UK wide delivery
Expert curated
Our Verdict
We list this one because it punches well above its price tag. Sub-£10 Chenin Blanc is a crowded shelf, and most of it is fine but forgettable, this is the rare bottle that actually tastes of somewhere. The west coast fruit gives it real aromatic lift, the unoaked winemaking keeps it honest, and the touch of ripe-fruit sweetness makes it genuinely crowd-pleasing without sliding into off-dry territory. Perfect if you're stocking up for a dinner party, a barbecue, or just want a reliable midweek white that doesn't ask too much of you. A great gateway into Swartland whites.
Tasting Notes
Guava and orange blossom lift straight out of the glass, this is Chenin in its aromatic, sunshine-soaked register. The palate is dry but rounded, with ripe apple and white peach fleshing things out, and a twist of orange peel keeping it lively. Three months on lees adds a subtle creamy weight without softening the focus, and the finish is crisp, clean and quietly persistent. Easy to love, hard to put down.
Tropical Guava Lift
Ripe guava leads the nose, that distinctive sweet-tart aromatic punch that signals warm-climate Chenin from the Cape's west coast.
Orange Blossom Perfume
A floral, citrus-tinged top note that gives the wine real lift and makes it feel fresher than the ripeness suggests.
Ripe Orchard Fruit
Apple and white peach fill out the mid-palate with gentle sweetness of fruit, even though the wine itself finishes dry.
About This Wine
Here's a wine that proves South Africa's signature white grape doesn't need to cost a fortune to deliver real character. Chenin Blanc thrives on the west coast of the Cape, where cool ocean breezes off the Benguela current temper the warm Swartland days and stretch the growing season just long enough to coax ripe, expressive fruit from the vines.
The Aloe Tree takes its name from the spiky silhouettes that dot the Cape landscape, a small nod to the extraordinary biodiversity of the Cape Floral Kingdom, where these vineyards sit. In the glass, you get aromatic guava and orange blossom lifting straight out, with ripe apple, white peach and a flick of orange peel filling the palate. It's technically dry, but there's a generous fruit sweetness that keeps everything friendly and approachable. The finish is clean and crisp, no oak, no fuss, just bright South African Chenin doing what it does best.
Pair it with anything fresh and summery: grilled prawns with garlic and lemon, a Thai green curry, goat's cheese on toast, or a simple roast chicken on a Sunday. It's also a brilliant aperitif, chilled down, poured into proper glasses, ready to start the evening.
We ship across the UK, usually within a couple of working days. A safe and seriously enjoyable introduction to Swartland Chenin if you've never gone there before.
Food Pairing
Built for easy weekday eating. Pour it alongside a Thai green curry or a tray of salt-and-pepper prawns and the tropical fruit sings. It also handles a simple roast chicken with lemon and thyme beautifully, or a goat's cheese and fig salad on a warm evening. Honest opinion: it's also the perfect aperitif glass when friends arrive unannounced.
- —Roast chicken with lemon and thyme
- —Thai green curry with prawns
- —Goat's cheese and fig salad
- —Salt-and-pepper squid
- —Smoked trout pâté on sourdough
How to Serve
Temperature
Properly chilled but not icy. Forty-five minutes in the fridge, or twenty in an ice bucket, hits the spot.
Decanting
No decanting needed. This is an unoaked, fruit-forward style designed to be poured straight from the bottle, over-aerating would only soften the aromatic lift that makes it tick.
Glass
A standard white wine glass with a slight tulip shape concentrates the guava and orange blossom aromatics nicely.
Behind the Wine
Swartland summers run warm, dry and breezy, and that's exactly what Chenin Blanc on the west coast wants. The cold Benguela current pushes in off the Atlantic, dropping night-time temperatures and stretching the ripening window, so the grapes hold onto their acidity even as the fruit flavours build. Low fungal pressure in these dry conditions means the fruit comes in clean and aromatic, which is why this unoaked style sings with such lifted, expressive character.
Ageing Potential
Drink it young. Unoaked, aromatic Chenin like this is at its most expressive in the first couple of years, when the guava and orange blossom are still leaping out of the glass. No need to cellar, open it on the way home from the shop.
The Land
The fruit comes off west-coast blocks planted on Karoo clay soils, heavier, water-retentive ground that adds texture and a touch of mid-palate weight to the wine. Cool Atlantic nights and steady sea breezes off the Benguela current temper the warm days, slowing ripening so the grapes build flavour without losing their natural acidity.
The Winemaking
Everything here is built around protecting freshness. The fruit is pressed gently and only the free-run juice goes forward, no harsh pressings, no rough edges. Fermentation runs cool, at around 14°C, over two weeks with selected yeasts, which locks in those aromatic top notes of guava and orange blossom. Three months resting on the lees adds a subtle, creamy weight to the mid-palate. No oak, deliberately, this is a wine about purity of fruit and that crisp Swartland line.
The Swartland Region
Swartland, 'the black land' in Afrikaans, named for the renosterbos that darkens after rain, rolls out north of Cape Town across the hills around Malmesbury and Riebeek-Kasteel. It's hot, dry, and stubbornly characterful: a place of old bush vines, granite and koffieklip soils, and a community of growers who've made it the most quietly thrilling corner of South African wine. Concentration, freshness, and a wild streak you don't find elsewhere, that's Swartland in a glass.
About the Producer
Aloe Tree
Aloe Tree takes its name and its identity from the spiky, sculptural trees that punctuate the Cape landscape, instantly recognisable to anyone who has driven the back roads of the Western Cape. It's a fitting emblem for a producer whose whole approach revolves around working in step with the surrounding biodiversity, the famous Cape Floral Kingdom that makes this corner of South Africa one of the most botanically rich places on earth. The fruit comes from vines between roughly ten and twenty-five years old, planted on Karoo clay soils that add a touch of body to the wines. The brief is simple and refreshingly honest: well-made, affordable, varietally pure wines that don't try to be anything they're not.