Bellevue Estate Collection Chenin Blanc
£16.49
£21.99 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
Only 3 bottles left
Bush-vine Chenin from the Bottelary Hills, planted on weathered granite and made for easy pleasure. Ripe pineapple and stone fruit, a streak of mineral cool, and a crisp, mouth-watering finish. The kind of white that turns a Tuesday into something better, and disappears far too quickly when friends drop round.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
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Our Verdict
We tasted this alongside a stack of Cape Chenins around the same money, and Bellevue's was the one that kept getting poured. There's a generosity to the fruit here that you don't always get at this price, but it's the line of granite-driven minerality that makes it feel proper rather than just easy. Perfect for the customer who drinks a lot of Sauvignon and is ready to graduate. Stellenbosch heritage, old bush vines, and a sub-£17 price tag, that's a combination we don't see often, and stocks tend to move quickly when people catch on.
Tasting Notes
Pineapple and yellow stone fruit lead on the nose, lifted by a clean, chalky minerality that hints at the granite soils underneath. The palate is fresh and focused, there's a touch of ripe sweetness on entry, but it's pulled taut by racy acidity that keeps everything bright. Subtle citrus pith and a whisper of pear carry through to a crisp, dry finish that leaves you reaching for the next sip.
Sun-ripe pineapple
Generous tropical fruit sits at the heart of this wine, ripe pineapple and a hint of yellow peach giving it instant appeal.
Stone-fruit core
Soft white peach and nectarine flesh add roundness and weight, lending the palate a gentle juiciness without ever feeling heavy.
Granite minerality
A cool, chalky mineral thread runs underneath the fruit, the signature of weathered granite soils and what gives this wine its grip.
About This Wine
Here's a Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc that knows exactly what it's for. Bellevue's Estate Collection bottling is the wine you reach for when the sun's out, the windows are open, and someone's just rung the doorbell unexpectedly. Lifted pineapple and white peach lead the way, with a clean mineral thread underneath that keeps everything honest. The finish is crisp, fresh, and immediately makes you want another sip.
The fruit comes from old bush vines rooted in weathered granite topsoil over crumbly clay, a soil profile the Bottelary Hills do better than almost anywhere in the Cape. Hand-picked, gently pressed, settled overnight in stainless steel, then fermented cool with selected yeasts to keep that varietal purity intact. No oak, no fuss, just Chenin doing what Chenin does best on this corner of Stellenbosch.
Pour it well-chilled with grilled prawns, a Thai green curry, or a wedge of goat's cheese and a hunk of bread. It's equally happy on its own in the garden, which is probably where most of it will end up.
Bellevue is the family estate that planted one of South Africa's first commercial Pinotage blocks back in 1953, and 200 years of farming know-how shows in everything they bottle. Delivered to your door anywhere in the UK, and a lovely, low-risk gift for anyone who already trusts you on wine.
Food Pairing
Best enjoyed cold on a warm afternoon, glass in hand, no food required. When you do want something alongside, lean into fresh and bright, grilled prawns with lemon and garlic, a Thai green chicken curry, or a simple goat's cheese salad with summer peaches. It's also a brilliant partner for fish and chips on a Friday night.
- —Grilled prawns with garlic, lemon and parsley
- —Thai green chicken curry
- —Goat's cheese salad with grilled peaches
- —Beer-battered fish and chips
- —Roast chicken with tarragon
How to Serve
Temperature
Properly chilled but not ice-cold. An hour in the fridge, or twenty minutes in an ice bucket, hits the spot.
Decanting
No need to decant. This is a fresh, unoaked Chenin built for immediate enjoyment, just pull the cork and pour. If anything, give the second glass a minute in the glass to let the stone-fruit aromatics expand.
Glass
A medium-sized white wine glass with a slight taper concentrates the tropical fruit and keeps the wine cool in hand.
Ageing & Cellaring
Built for drinking now while the fruit is fresh and the acidity is singing. There's no benefit in laying this down, pull the cork within a year or two of purchase and you'll catch it at its best. Keep bottles cool and out of direct light in the meantime.
The Land
Old bush vines sit on a south-facing slope, rows aligned north to south to balance the day's light. The topsoil is weathered granite, free-draining, mineral-rich, over a crumbly clay sub-soil that holds water deep down. It's a profile Chenin Blanc loves: vines stay cool-rooted, ripening slowly, building the racy acidity and flinty edge that lift the wine's tropical fruit.
The Winemaking
Hand-picked fruit is destemmed, gently crushed and pressed, then the juice is left to settle overnight in stainless steel, a quiet pause that lets the cleanest, most expressive material rise to the top. Fermentation happens in tank with carefully selected yeasts chosen to amplify Chenin's natural personality rather than reshape it. No oak, no fuss, just a clean, low-intervention route designed to keep the pineapple lift, the stone-fruit flesh and that bright mineral cut intact from vineyard to glass.
About the Producer
Bellevue Wine
Bellevue is one of those estates that quietly changed South African wine. In 1953, when P.K. Morkel went looking for Gamay vines and couldn't find any, he took a punt on a new local cultivar called Pinotage, and planted some of the first commercial blocks anywhere in the country. Those gnarled bush vines are still producing today, more than seventy years on, twisted by decades of Cape sun and wind. Two centuries of family winemaking sit behind the label, but the philosophy is unfussy: good soils, minimal intervention, and a respect for the old vines that put this place on the map. The Atticus blend, named after one of the estate's prized Arabian stallions, is Bellevue at its most expressive.