Grape Variety: Chenin Blanc

Colour:

White

This supremely versatile and noble Loire grape makes all styles from petillant and sparkling to bleach-bone dry, tender, moelleux and sensationally sweet. Extemely popular in South Africa where it used to be known as Steen, it is also found in small pockets of Gisborne in New Zealand, California and Argentina, and in France in the VDQS of Entraygues et Le fel and Estaing.

It is the grape specified for AOC Savennieres (south-west of Angers) where Chenin is known as Pineau de la Loire. Chenin here produces wines of immense concentration and longevity. Depending on the composition of the soil and the vintage the wines from Savennieres can be nervous, with high acidity and a dry almondy aftertaste; other examples verge on the tendre with ripe flavours of honeydew and quince. Chenin grows well in Anjou thanks to the schist soils, and is responsible for exceptional sweet wines such as Vincent Ogereau’s Coteaux du Layon Clos des Bonnes Blanches - a nectar of dried fruits, spices and honey - the finish seems to go on forever.

Another dry style is Thierry Germain’s Saumur Blanc l’Insolite made from from 75-yr old Chenin vines - with acidity as keen as a whippet with mustard on its nose and refined mineral fruit to boot it is a very high-toned wine, its purity testament to biodynamic viticulture. Antoine Collier’s Saumurs are also the product of old vines, low yields and biodynamic farming. Fermented and aged in barrique they are lush, almost Burgundian wines. Warm honey aromas cascade from the glass, peaches and cinnamon cream fill the mouth rounded off by a whiff of toasted hazelnut. To be drunk with hushed reverence.

In Vouvray Didier and Catherine Champalou make a fine array of styles.Their straight Vouvray is rounded and tender, suggestive of ripe quinces sheathed in threads of honey. The riper Vouvray ‘Cuvee les Fondraux’ from older vines has an enticing golden colour which draws you to an exotic bouquet of lavender, honey, sweet grape and marzipan. Their Vouvray Brut, called by them a ‘petillant naturel’ (natural sparkling) is exuberant - floral with a delightful nose of honey, sweet hay and quince, and lively acidity supporting the rich apple fruit. Further examples of this grape appear in the appellations of Montlouis (Stephane Cossais and Frantz Saumon) and Jasnieres (Domaine Le Briseau and Domaine Belliviere). It is said that, maybe three or four times a century, the appellation of Jasnières makes the greatest Chenin on earth. I like this notion of a terroir, notoriously temperamental, that unabashedly fixes you with its glittering eye and declares: “I am what I am – take me, or preferably, leave me!” Most certainly the vagaries of vintage determine the style of the wine: the difference, for example, between 2004 & 2005 is profound. Even the more sumptuous examples have an astringency that keeps your palate guessing. There’s warmth, waxiness and those almond notes typical of Chenin, some sly sherry aromatics and pulped-pear-mingled with-flint-fruit. And here’s the rub, the longer you leave it the more profound it becomes, so please carafe in order to allow the dry honey to become runny!

For quintessential sweet Chenin the reference is surely the Bonnezeaux from Chateau de Fesles (Germain family) - a botrytis wine that demonstrates perfectly the potential of the grape - golden yellow,complex and bursting with aromas of quinces, ripe apricots and charentais melon, as well as acacia honey and exotic spices (saffron) on the palate. Combining freshness and richness it is a wine that is seductive and sensual, a typical Chenin nose with mineral notes and behind this a core of rich, honeyed aromas and a suggestion of lemony freshness with rosemary and herb nuances. On the palate it is fabulously rich yet balanced with superb acidity and, a hallmark of Chenin, a lovely fat, round, oily texture, with a deep mineral complexity.

Chenin Blanc has been successfully planted in other countries other than France, South Africa is now recognized as an important producer of quality Chenin Blanc. The Vinum Chenin Blanc from Stellenbosch contrives to marry New World richness with almost classical restraint.  This wine is matured on its lees, giving considerable fruit, complexity and depth. There is a wonderful minerality on the palate with lovely fruit, steely acidity and abundant aromatic concentration, the nose hints at the superb elegance of this wine, white petals, citrus crispness, gentle vanilla and spicy cinnamon, the palate unfolds layers of fresh lime, deep opulent fruitiness and tingling spiciness all wrapped up in very subtle and harmonious notes of French oak. More profound still is the Black Rock white from the Swartland where old Chenin bush vines give depth and a pure mineral dimension to a blend also containing Chardonnay and a soupcon of Viognier. The nose of this wine strikes you immediately with its mineral and fragrant qualities. The palate has no discernable dominant varietal and in fact one of its most attractive facets is its integrated and seamless composition. A lively but weighted mouthfeel, driven through by a ray of mineral acidity which combines naturally with white petals, apricots and bright fruitiness. A blend in the true sense: balanced, harmonious and multi-faceted. One of only a few Cape Chenin-based blends yet to reach this level.

Chenin can be drunk with so many things. One thinks of Savennieres with the king of river fish, the wild salmon. Or a slightly tart Anjou with a plate of crayfish. A glass of sparkling Vouvray with new season’s strawberries. A rich Saumur or Jasnieres with slow cooked pork belly or a rabbit stew with baby spring vegetables, A Coteaux du Layon with some young blue cheese. Bonnezeaux with apple tarte tatin.