The Den Chenin Blanc
£12.39
£16.52 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
In Stock — 6 bottles available
Swartland Chenin Blanc with the volume turned up, bright citrus, ripe pear and a flash of passion fruit, all wrapped around a creamy, just-oaked core. Made from unirrigated bush vines for Painted Wolf's flagship range, it's a generous, food-friendly white that punches well above its price tag and lands at your UK door ready to pour.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
UK wide delivery
Our Verdict
We taste a lot of entry-level Chenin, and most of it is fine. This one isn't fine, it's properly delicious, and the gap between what it costs and what it delivers is the reason we keep restocking it. The Swartland bush-vine fruit gives it a depth most under-£15 whites simply don't have, and that thread of vanilla oak is judged perfectly: present, not pushy. Ideal for anyone curious about South African Chenin, or as the house white you stop overthinking. Stock moves quickly on this one, worth grabbing a few while it's in.
Tasting Notes
Lemon zest and ripe pear lead the nose, with passion fruit and a whisper of vanilla oak sitting just behind. The palate is bright and creamy at once, that's the Chenin trick, with crisp citrus acidity cutting through a textural, almost lees-rich mid-palate. Tropical fruit carries through to a long, juicy finish that keeps reminding you it's there. Plenty of substance for the price, with the kind of drinkability that empties bottles quickly.
About This Wine
Here's a Swartland Chenin Blanc that doesn't ask permission to be liked. From the first sniff you get fresh lemon and ripe pear, then a lift of passion fruit that hints at warmer climates and older vines. On the palate it's bright and creamy at the same time, that's the Swartland trick, with crisp acidity keeping everything pin-sharp and a whisper of vanilla oak adding texture rather than weight. The grapes come from unirrigated bush vines on Leeuwenkuil farm and a handful of other Swartland sites, the kind of low-yielding vineyards that give Chenin its real personality. Natural yeast, tank fermentation, a small splash of Viognier for aromatic lift, this is honest winemaking from one of South Africa's most exciting regions, made by Painted Wolf, the Borg family project that funnels profits back into protecting the endangered African wild dog. Pour it well-chilled with grilled prawns, a roast chicken with lemon and thyme, or a Thai green curry that needs something with enough fruit to hold its own. It's just as happy on a Friday evening with no plan beyond unwinding. We ship across the UK, usually within a couple of days. Send a bottle to a South African friend missing the Cape, or quietly add a few to your own everyday line-up, at this price, it makes sense to keep some on hand.
Food Pairing
This is a brilliant all-rounder for the dinner table. The crisp acidity cuts beautifully through anything creamy, while the tropical fruit handles a bit of spice with ease. Try it with grilled chicken and lemon, a Thai green curry, or a goat's cheese tart. Equally happy on its own in the garden on a warm afternoon.
- —Grilled lemon and herb chicken
- —Thai green curry with prawns
- —Goat's cheese and caramelised onion tart
- —Pan-fried sea bass with brown butter
- —Sunday afternoon charcuterie board
How to Serve
Decanting
No decanting needed. This is a fresh, fruit-driven style that's at its best straight from a properly chilled bottle, pour and enjoy.
Behind the Wine
Swartland sits at the warmer, drier end of the Cape's wine country, and that shapes everything about this Chenin. Unirrigated bush vines dig deep for water, naturally limiting their yield and concentrating flavour in every berry. The producer works with low-yielding sites farmed with minimal intervention, picking early enough to preserve the bright citrus lift while letting the warmth build that generous tropical-fruit weight. It's a style built on the region's resilience, sun-soaked but never flabby.
Ageing Potential
Built for early drinking. Enjoy on release and over the next two to three years while the fruit is fresh, the acidity vibrant, and that lifted passion fruit aromatic is at its peak. There's no benefit to extended cellaring, this is a wine that rewards you now.
The Land
These are bush vines, head-trained and standing on their own roots without irrigation, the old Swartland way. With no drip line to lean on, the vines push deep into the dry soils to find moisture, and the resulting fruit carries the concentration and savoury edge that only struggling vineyards seem to deliver.
The Winemaking
Tank-fermented using the natural yeasts that arrive with the grapes, the gentler, slower route that lets Chenin's own character speak rather than imposing a winery house style. A small Viognier component adds an aromatic lift of stone fruit and florals, and a touch of oak rounds the texture with a whisper of vanilla rather than swamping the fruit. The result is creamy on the palate, crisp on the finish, and built for drinking rather than waiting.
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
Painted Wolf
Painted Wolf takes its name, and its purpose, from one of Africa's most endangered predators: the African wild dog, known to conservationists as the painted wolf. It's an unusual starting point for a wine label, but once you understand the story, it makes perfect sense. Founded in Paarl in 2006 by Emma and Jeremy Borg, this is a producer built on the idea that good wine and good intentions aren't mutually exclusive.
Jeremy learned his craft the hard way, working harvests and cellars across the US, UK and South Africa, including a spell at Fairview just down the road in Paarl. That well-travelled apprenticeship shows in the wines: confident, well-made, and refreshingly free of pretension. The Borgs source their grapes widely across the Cape Winelands, with a particular focus on the Swartland and other Coastal region vineyards, giving them the flexibility to chase quality and character rather than being tied to a single estate.
What sets Painted Wolf apart, though, is the conservation thread running through everything they do. A portion of proceeds supports wild dog conservation and social upliftment projects, and the packageing itself tells that story, each wine a small act of storytelling as much as winemaking. It would be easy for that to feel like a marketing gimmick bolted onto an ordinary wine business. It doesn't. The commitment runs deep, and the wines back it up.
We stock Painted Wolf because they prove that a wine with a conscience doesn't have to compromise on drinkability. The Den range, their most approachable line, is exactly what its name suggests: soft, juicy, unfussy wines built for everyday drinking rather than the cellar. Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinotage and a Pinotage Rosé all wear the Wine of Origin Western Cape or Swartland badge with quiet confidence, and all deliver more character than their easy-drinking style might suggest.
For UK customers curious about South African wine with genuine substance behind the label, Painted Wolf offers a way in that's both delicious and meaningful. It's a bottle you can open on a Tuesday and one you can talk about at a dinner party, which isn't a combination you find often.