Swartland Founders Chenin Blanc
£11.49
£15.32 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
Only 2 bottles left
Some white wines try too hard. This one just delivers: crisp, dry and bursting with guava, passion fruit and a twist of lime zest. It is the bottle you reach for on a warm evening without a second thought, and at this price it earns a permanent spot in the fridge. Honest, fruit-driven Cape Chenin Blanc that overdelivers every single time.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
UK wide delivery
Expert curated
Our Verdict
We taste a lot of inexpensive Chenin Blanc, and most of it is forgettable. This one is not. What we love about the Founders is its honesty: no oak, no tricks, just bright tropical fruit and a properly dry, refreshing finish that makes you want a second glass. It is the wine we recommend to anyone discovering Cape whites for the first time, and the one we quietly keep stocked at home for midweek dinners and sunny afternoons. Stock is limited at the moment, so if you want a case for summer, do not wait too long.
Tasting Notes
A bright, unoaked Chenin Blanc built for refreshment. The nose lifts with ripe guava and passion fruit, the kind of tropical perfume that signals a wine made for easy enjoyment rather than contemplation. On the palate it stays dry and clean, that juicy fruit cut through by a streak of lime zest that keeps everything taut and lively. The finish is crisp and quenching, leaving you ready for the next sip. Uncomplicated in the best sense: fresh, fruity and genuinely thirst-slaking.
About This Wine
Here is a wine that proves you do not need to spend big to drink well. Swartland Founders Chenin Blanc is exactly the kind of everyday white that South African Wines built its reputation on: generous, refreshing and full of personality, with none of the fuss. Pour it chilled and the glass fills with ripe guava and passion fruit, lifted by a clean streak of lime zest that keeps everything bright and dry. There is real Cape sunshine here, but it stays focused and easy to drink rather than heavy. Chenin Blanc is South Africa's calling card, the country's most-planted white grape, and the Swartland is one of its great heartlands. North of Cape Town, constant cool breezes off the Atlantic and a patchwork of microclimates give these grapes their flavour and freshness, which is exactly what you taste in the glass. Serve it well chilled, around 8 to 10C, as an aperitif on the patio, or alongside summer salads, mild chicken fajitas or your favourite Asian takeaway. It is a brilliant house white for that first proper barbecue when the British summer finally turns up, and a friendly introduction for anyone curious about South African Chenin Blanc. Drink it young and fresh while all that fruit is singing. We deliver across the UK, usually within a few days, so a case can be on your doorstep before the weekend.
Food Pairing
This is a versatile aperitif Chenin that earns its keep at the table. Pour it well chilled before a meal, or let its lime-edged freshness cut through lightly spiced dishes. It loves mild chicken fajitas, summer salads and the gentle ginger and lemongrass notes of Thai or Vietnamese cooking. Equally happy alongside a goat's cheese tart or a plate of grilled prawns on a warm evening.
- —Mild chicken fajitas with lime and coriander
- —Thai green chicken curry with jasmine rice
- —Summer salad with goat's cheese and toasted seeds
- —Grilled prawns with garlic and lemon
- —Vietnamese summer rolls with dipping sauce
How to Serve
Decanting
No decanting needed. This is an unoaked, fruit-driven white meant for immediate enjoyment, so simply chill, pour and let the tropical aromatics speak for themselves.
Ageing & Cellaring
Drink this one young. It is made to be enjoyed fresh, with that vibrant guava and lime character at its best within two to three years of release. There is no benefit to cellaring; the joy here is in the bright, immediate fruit, so pull the cork while it is lively.
The Land
The vineyards spread across the hills around Malmesbury, where no two sites behave quite the same. Constant Atlantic breezes feed a mosaic of microclimates, while the nearby mountain ranges shape how each parcel ripens. Varied soils across these slopes add their own imprint, giving Swartland Chenin its mix of fruit weight and bright, lifted acidity.
About the Producer
Swartland Winery
Swartland Winery has been a quiet workhorse of the Western Cape for over seventy years. It started life as a cooperative cellar, farmers pooling their fruit, sharing the work, building something bigger than any single grower could manage alone. That cooperative spirit still runs through the place, even after it restructured into a private wine company with three business units under one roof. Today, from its base just outside Malmesbury, the winery turns out around fifty-one different styles across red, white, sparkling and fortified. The Founders range sits at the everyday end of the lineup: lifestyle wines designed for the dinner table, not the cellar, but made with the same attention as the single-vineyard bottlings further up the range.