Western Cape Fairtrade Chenin Blanc
£11.49
£15.32 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
Only 4 bottles left
Here's everyday Chenin Blanc with a conscience and a serious backstory. Crisp apple freshness meets ripe tropical fruit, grown on cool, high vineyards in the Olifants River Valley by a Fairtrade farm part-owned by the people who work it. Bright, easy and properly good value, this is the white you'll keep coming back to.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
UK wide delivery
Expert curated
Our Verdict
We have a soft spot for honest, well-made Chenin that doesn't cost the earth, and this one earns its place on the shelf every time. What sells us is the balance: that taut apple freshness from the high, breezy vineyards held against real tropical depth from properly mature bush vines. It's the white we'd happily open for guests without a second thought, and the Fairtrade story behind Berg en Dal makes it an easy, feel-good gift too. We only get this in small quantities, so if you spot it in stock, grab a couple of bottles while you can.
Tasting Notes
This is Chenin in its fresh, unfussy register. The nose leads with crisp green apple and a lift of ripe pineapple and guava, the kind of tropical sweetness that comes from old bush vines soaking up Olifants River sun. On the palate it stays bright and clean, that apple crunch holding firm while the riper tropical fruit fills the mid-palate. A cool, juicy line of acidity runs right through to a refreshing, citrus-edged finish that leaves you reaching for the next sip.
About This Wine
If you want proof that everyday wine can punch well above its price, start here. This Western Cape Chenin Blanc comes from the Berg en Dal farm in the Olifants River Valley, a place that has been Fairtrade-certified since 2003 and part-owned by its own employees since 2007. So every glass does a little good. But you're not buying it out of duty. You're buying it because it tastes great. The fruit grows on sandy soils, on bush vines climbing up to 600 metres above sea level, where cool Atlantic breezes funnel up the valley and keep things fresh. The vines average around 25 years old, with some veterans past 40, and that maturity shows in the glass: crisp green apple and citrus zip up front, balanced by a generous swell of tropical fruit ripeness. It's clean, lifted and immensely easy to drink. This is a brilliant all-rounder. Pour it well chilled as an aperitif, or set it against grilled prawns, a Thai green curry, roast chicken with lemon, or a wedge of mature Cheddar. It's the kind of bottle that makes a Friday feel earned and a midweek supper feel special. We deliver across the UK, usually within a few days, so a case can be on your doorstep by the weekend.
Food Pairing
This is the bottle for relaxed eating. Its apple freshness cuts beautifully through a Friday-night fish and chips, while the riper tropical fruit loves a Thai green curry or a plate of salt-and-pepper squid. It also sings alongside a roast chicken with lemon and thyme, or simply with a wedge of mild Cheddar and a green salad on a warm afternoon.
- —Battered fish and chips with tartare sauce
- —Thai green chicken curry
- —Salt-and-pepper squid with lime
- —Roast chicken with lemon and thyme
- —Mild Cheddar with a crisp green salad
How to Serve
Decanting
No need to decant. This is a fresh, fruit-forward style meant to be poured straight from a chilled bottle, and air would only soften the lively acidity that makes it so refreshing.
Behind the Wine
Up in the Olifants River Valley, the vines have to earn their keep. Days run warm and dry, but cool Atlantic breezes funnel up the valley and drop temperatures enough for the old bush vines to cling onto their acidity. Plantings climb to around 600 metres, where altitude slows ripening and locks in freshness. You taste exactly that balance in the glass: a crisp, appley bite framing riper tropical fruit, a wine that stays lively rather than turning heavy.
Ageing Potential
Drink this one young. It is built for freshness, not the cellar, so enjoy it within two to three years of release while the apple crunch and tropical fruit are at their most vibrant. There is nothing to gain from keeping it longer.
The Land
The fruit grows on free-draining sandy soils on the Berg en Dal farm, with vines reaching up to 600 metres above sea level. At that height, and with cool Atlantic air sweeping through, the old bush vines (averaging 25 years, some past 40) ripen slowly and hold onto their nervy, refreshing acidity.
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
South African White
The Alvi's Drift story starts with a bridge. Back in 1928, Albertus Viljoen van der Merwe, Oupa Alvi to everyone who knew him, bought a stretch of land on the Breede River, and two years later commissioned a low-water crossing so locals could move between the two halves of the farm. That crossing, the 'drift' in the name, is still there. Three generations on, Oupa Alvi's grandson Alvi van der Merwe runs the cellar, which is a wonderful detour from his earlier career as a GP working across Canada, the UK and South Africa. He came home in 2003 to join his father Bertie in the vineyards, and now makes the wines alongside his wife Junel, a Cape Wine Master. The Signature range is their everyday calling card: serious winemaking dressed in approachable clothes.