Darling Cellars Lime Kiln
£13.99
£16.99
£18.65 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
Only 4 bottles left
If you think Chenin Blanc means simple and quaffable, this will change your mind. A textured white blend from the cool West Coast of Darling, layered with peach, apricot and honeycomb. Barrel-fermented and lees-aged for real depth. A proper food wine that punches well above its modest price, delivered across the UK.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
Our Verdict
We have a soft spot for the West Coast, and this is one of the wines that explains why. It is the kind of bottle that quietly outclasses pricier, better-known whites: serious lees-driven texture, real concentration from those low-yielding dry-land bush vines, and the salty freshness only cool Atlantic air delivers. The Lime Kilns blend has form too, with a Veritas Gold to its name. Perfect for the curious drinker who loves Burgundy but baulks at the price, and ideal alongside a long Sunday lunch. We only have a handful left, so do not dawdle on this one.
Tasting Notes
A barrel-fermented white with real presence. The nose leads with ripe peach and apricot, lifted by orange peel and a thread of honeycomb that hints at the lees ageing underneath. On the palate it's broad and textured, the tropical fruit carried by a saline West Coast freshness that keeps everything taut rather than heavy. There's a creamy mid-palate weight from time in French oak, then a long, gently spiced finish that stays savoury and dry. Serious stuff for the money.
About This Wine
Here is a wine that rewards anyone willing to look past the famous names. Darling sits on South Africa's cool West Coast, just a few kilometres from the Atlantic, where sea breezes off Table Bay slow the ripening and lock in freshness. That maritime edge is exactly what gives this blend its poise. The backbone is old-vine Chenin Blanc, the grape South Africa does better than anywhere on earth, fleshed out with a splash of Viognier grown high on south-western slopes that look towards Table Mountain, and a little Chardonnay for structure. The fruit comes from unirrigated bush vines rooted in deep red oakleaf soils, cropped at tiny yields, then each variety is barrel-fermented separately in French oak and left for nine months on fine lees. The result is generous but precise: ripe peach and apricot, a thread of honeycomb and orange peel, and a creamy, savoury mid-palate that carries real length. This is unashamedly a food wine. Pour it with roast chicken and lemon, smoked duck, or a side of slow-baked salmon, and watch it come alive. Well priced for the quality, and a clever, characterful gift for anyone who thinks they know South African white. We ship across the UK, usually within a few days.
Food Pairing
This is built for the table. Its weight and tropical depth stand up to smoked duck breast or a herb-roasted free-range chicken with all the trimmings. The saline freshness is brilliant with a side of pan-fried salmon or a buttery baked fillet. For something simpler, try it with a roast chicken Sunday lunch or a mature, nutty cheese where the honeycomb note really sings.
- —Smoked duck breast with a sharp fruit chutney
- —Herb and lemon roast chicken Sunday lunch
- —Pan-fried salmon fillet with brown butter
- —Roasted pork loin with apple
- —Mature Comte or aged Gruyere
How to Serve
Decanting
No need to decant, but this rewards air. Pour it half an hour before you want to drink it, or simply let the first glass open up as the oak and honeycraft notes unfold.
Behind the Wine
Darling's vineyards sit just a few kilometres from the cold Atlantic, where afternoon sea breezes off Table Bay temper the warm, dry summers and gently slow ripening. That long, cool hang preserves natural acidity in the white grapes while letting flavour build. The dry-land bush vines go unirrigated, fending for themselves and yielding just 2-3 tonnes per hectare. The result is concentration over volume: tropical, thiol-rich Chenin Blanc fruit with the freshness to carry it.
Ageing Potential
Drinking beautifully now, with the structure and lees-derived complexity to reward another three to five years in the cellar. Expect the bright tropical fruit to mellow into richer honeyed, waxy notes while the savoury depth builds.
The Land
These grapes come from deep red oakleaf soils over decomposed granite, worked as untrellised, dry-land bush vines. The Chenin Blanc draws from old vines of nearly four decades, while the Viognier clings to south-westerly facing hills that look toward Table Mountain. Poor soils and ocean-facing slopes force the vines deep, giving low yields and intensely concentrated fruit.
The Winemaking
This is a wine built in the cellar with patience rather than tricks. The grapes are crushed and destalked, then given twelve hours of skin contact to draw out aroma and texture. Each variety is barrel-fermented separately in 500-litre French oak, large enough to season the wine without smothering its fruit. It then settles back into barrel for around nine months on fine lees, with a further spell on the fermentation lees. That lees time is where the honeyed weight and savoury mid-palate depth come from.
The Western Cape Region
Le Domaine draws its fruit from vineyards scattered across the Western Cape, from coastal sites cooled by Atlantic breezes to warmer inland slopes, all planted between 50 and 300 metres above sea level. This broad sourcing is deliberate. By blending components from different microclimates, the cellar builds a consistent house style that balances the crisp acidity of cooler sites with the ripe generosity of warmer ones. It's the Western Cape's extraordinary diversity captured in a single glass.
About the Producer
Darling Cellars
Darling Cellars sits on the Cape West Coast, about seventy-five kilometres north of Cape Town, in a landscape that was dairy country long before anyone thought to plant vines. Founded in the mid-nineties as a privately owned cellar, it's run by a cooperative of around twenty shareholders farming roughly 1,300 hectares, a community venture in the truest sense. Nearly all their vineyards are unirrigated, with bush vines doing what they've always done: pushing roots deep into decomposed granite to find their own water. It's dry farming in its purest form, and it gives the wines a concentration and honesty that you simply can't manufacture. Under the direction of red wine specialist Pieter-Niel Rossouw, the cellar has built a quiet reputation for wines that overdeliver at every price point, genuine, terroir-driven, and refreshingly unpretentious.