Friday, August 18, 2023

Chenin Blanc take-over of The Wine Glass in Stellenbosch

We hadn't been to a Chenin Blanc tasting for rather a long time so,
when we saw this tasting featuring Stellenbosch Chenins, we decided to go
We discovered that, if you booked lunch there, you could enjoy all three tastings. A great incentive
We like the concept of three sessions, each featuring eight terroir driven wines

A new venue for us, but we hadn't been in Stellenbosch for quite a while and, to follow the tasting,
we were being sponsored by Stellenbosch Wine Tourism to stay overnight and take part in their Festival

Great to see Ina Smith, who has done so much for the Chenin Blanc Association

Inside the restaurant

Yes!

A rather headless wine drinker in the outside courtyard

A fruit eating monkey and a well-stocked bar

Ladybird Cellarmaster Francois van Zyl

Golden fruit, richness, lemon lime on end, a good organic example of what Stellenbosch can produce

Warwick representative Stefan Marais

Another classic; single vineyard, fermented in French oak, richness. Good fruit and oak are present

Jordan The Timepiece has impressed us before
A dive in nose, with lovely golden fruit, minerality and judicious wooding; made to last

DeMorgenzon Reserve 2020; a new release from a 52 year-old block
An attractive nose, silky on the palate with notes of orange and golden summer fruit,
same warmth, a very special Chenin

Two from Longridge. The 2022 dances on the tongue; well balanced, with lovely sweet golden fruit
and good wood in the background
The 2021 Ou Steen from vineyards planted in 1981 is so well made, sophisticated,
with layers of mature golden peaches and gentle wood

The L'Avenir Single Block Chenin is perfection
Spends a year in oak, but it is just there, supporting the layers of fruit. Very elegant and satisfying
The 2022 has lots of fruit on the nose. Wood is there too and on the fresh, exciting palate. A food wine

Dornier's Moordenaarskloof 2021
Shy with honeysuckle perfume, and honey on the creamy palate with good sweet pineapple and peach notes
and some good oak

On to the second tasting of eight 
Bellevue Eselgraf (Donkey's grave) had lovely fruit on the nose, crisp golden fruit and long flavours

Stellenrust has produced a Chenin bubbly modelled on Prosecco
Perfumed, with a lovely crisp tingle and lasting sparkle, it is, in our opinion, better than many Proseccos

 Final wine of the middle session was the Barrel Fermented Villiera
It was, without doubt, one of the best Chenins we have tasted in a long time
Superb nose with salty minerality, golden fruit and elegant wooding
which follows through on the full palate, which sings and pings with flavour, minerality and judicious oaking


Time for us to sit down to eat some lunch. The menu

The lambshank. Well cooked, with good gravy, young carrots and a butternut purée with crisp chips

Billed as Cap Classique Hake and chips; a disappointment
The fish was long frozen, the batter half-cooked on a bed of squashed peas (why?), tartare sauce and soggy chips

Inside the wine shop

Back to tasting
Knorhoek 2021 Old Vine 1980 has a whiff of smoke, good fruit fills the palate, long flavours
with slight bitterness of oak on the end

Steen op Hout is 35% barrel fermented and matured in old large oak
Apple pie with lemon and a good acid lift to finish. Great with food
Block W is sophisticated; subtle oak supports stone fruit and lightly salty mineral notes

Three from Raats
Original Unoaked 2022 was delicious, clean, full of fruit, elegance, spice and long flavours
Raats Old Vine is interesting; good fruit, 50% old wood and it is present in the character
It brings back memories of enjoying it with Dim Sum in Hong Kong
Haarlem to Hope blends Chenin with Semillon
Soft mouthfeel from the Semillon with delicious sweet fruit wrapped in gentle acidity

Kaapzicht 1947, the vineyard planted in that year, is special
It fills the palate with everything you want from a good Chenin, long flavours, wood just supports
The unwooded Family Chenin Blanc is excellent, leaner, crisper and with long flavours

Mooiplaas Bush Vine Chenin is a certified Old Vine wine, from vines planted in 1972
Well-balanced; cooked apple and quince with grassy notes and enough acidity to keep it fresh
The Houmoed (Keep a positive attitude) is sophisticated; flavours similar to the Old Vine, but richer with bready notes


Koelenhof Bushvine 1679 reminded us of Villiera chenins; their terroir across the road is similar
Sweet golden fruit and rather a lot of oak which might soften with age
Koelenbosch 2022 Chenin has a golden nose and palate, very fresh with a whiff of oak. Enjoyable, well priced

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