Hella Chenin
I just attended an event at Hammerling Wines in Berkeley featuring several South African and Californian producers, with the focus solely on Chenin Blanc. Hella Chenin was organised by Peter Andrews of Culture Wine Co., who imports only South African wines: the tasting gave a chance to explore two categories which don’t get talked about as much as they should.
Chenin Blanc is so associated with the Loire Valley, in classic regions such as Vouvray, Saumur, and Anjou among many others, it gets forgotten that it’s planted elsewhere. In fact, there is more Chenin Blanc planted in South Africa (c.19,000ha) than the rest of the world put together. It’s less common in California, but in the 1960s it was the most planted variety in Napa Valleya window into California’s past..
loire context
The twentieth-century history of Chenin Blanc going into modern times highlights some of the trends of all those regions’ wine industries. In France, there were about 16,500ha of plantings in the late 1950s; now, it’s almost half that figure, at around 10,000ha. In part, that’s because the quality of wines in the Loire Valley in the 1970s and 80s fell dramatically, and with it interest in them. Quality is now back where it should be, but that means vines are planted not for their high yields but for the substance of the wines they produce—hence, a lower amount of plantings. Loire Chenin is quite different from South Africa or California: the climate is much cooler and the wines have very high, racy acidity. This can give the impression that Chenin should always be racy and linear, but in South Africa and California, although the acidity is still very fresh, the wines are softer and rounder.
south africa
The twentieth century in South Africa saw an emphasis on high yields, often for brandy production. The quality of the wines was generally low, and sold only domestically due to apartheid. After the fall of apartheid in the 1990s, South African wines became available internationally but the focus was on inexpensive wines, which still haunt the image and reputation of the industry in general. Conversely, though, because of the number of plantings during the twentieth century, there are now lots of old vines (min. 35 years) across the grape-growing regions of South Africa.
There are many quality producers, often working with older vines, who highlight a very different representation of South Africa. Tasting through several Chenin Blanc producers’ wines, some of which I was familiar with, some not, was a great insight into the regions of South Africa and the trends that producers aren’t simply following but creating. The event showed just how central Chenin Blanc is to South Africa’s wine culture, how passionate producers are about the grape, and that there isn’t one uniform style.
south africa highlights
Luddite “Saboteur” Bot River 2023 (✪✪✪✪)
Bot River is a coastal region next to the more famous Hemel-en-Aarde, with which it shares a climate cooled by the ocean. That cooling influence leads to a lean, tense style with a grainy texture, a concentrated structure, and a lengthy, stone fruit finish.
Tarragon by Spice Road Swartland 2023 (✪✪✪✪✪)
Although Swartland is warmer than the coastal regions, there’s plenty of old vines which make spectacular Chenin Blanc—the vines for this Chenin were planted in 1978. It’s fermented in 12% new French oak barrels and aged for eight further months in barrel for a lightly creamy mouthfeel and a gently round texture, followed by a long, subtle finish. Perhaps the standout of the South African Chenins.
Craven Stellenbosch 2024 (✪✪✪✪)
Based in Stellenbosch, Craven are the perfect crossover for a Cali-South Africa tasting, as Mike and Jeanine met in California, now making wine in South Africa. They make lovely, crunchy red wines from grape varieties like Cinsault; Chenin Blanc fits perfectly into their range with a fresh, crisp structure and a waxy, saline character very typical of South African Chenin.
Bosman Optenhorst 2023 (✪✪✪✪✪)
An historic family winery located in Wellington, Paarl, the old heart of South Africa’s wine industry. The “Optenhorst” comes from vines planted in 1952, and has intense, deep, concentrated aromas of stone fruits and spices, with a round, creamy texture. A superb example of what South African Chenin Blanc can achieve. Also tasted: Chenin Blanc 2024 (✪✪✪✪), a more introductory wine, generous and approachable, the ripe fruit balanced by fresh acidity.
Aslina Skin Contact 2023 (✪✪✪✪)
There’s a great deal of effort to make South Africa’s wine industry more diverse. Ntsiki Biyela graduated from Stellenbosch in 2003 with a BSc in Agriculture (Viticulture and Oenology), after receiving a scholarship to study there. There’s quite a lot of experimentation with skin contact in South Africa for Chenin Blanc, some of it short to add texture and aromatics, but also for longer to create “orange” wines (try Testalonga). Aslina’s Skin Contact Chenin Blanc lies somewhere in between, with seven days on the skins. That gives the wine a firm structure and texture, without any overpowering tannins, and there’s an open, round creaminess to the palate.
There were also a couple of wines I’ve been enjoying for about fifteen years now: Secateurs by Badenhorst from Swartland is just the go-to South African Chenin for blind tastings as it’s affordable, widely available, and simply excellent (✪✪✪✪). Meanwhile, Cartology by Steve Alheit has become a classic of South Africa’s white wines: there’s a little bit of Sémillon, all the vines are old and bush-trained, a reflection of the country’s grape-growing and winemaking history (✪✪✪✪✪).
california
There are around 3,000ha of Chenin Blanc planted in California, which is not an insignificant number, and it’s found in various regions: Mendocino, Clarksburg, Sierra Foothills, Central Coast, and Santa Barbara. Many of these wines aren’t found outside the state, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be taken seriously—and they provide an interesting alternative to the ubiquitous Chardonnay.
It’s hard to generalise about the differences between California and South African Chenin, other than that they are quite different from the Loire. In both cases, the climate is generally moderate to warm Mediterranean, often cooled by oceans and/or elevation. The ocean effect is slightly different though. In California, the Pacific brings in fog and breezes in the morning followed by warm afternoons. This results in a round style, fruity, though in the best examples not overly so.
In South Africa, the Atlantic brings in strong, cooling winds, made even cooler by the Antarctic to the south: the Benguela Current and the Cape Doctor are two important climatic influences. The wines are often more saline as a result, but sharing the round, stone fruit aromas. Vines are also likely to be older than in California, adding an intensity and edge to the wines.
california highlights
Litorrai Chenin Blanc Sonoma Coast 2023 and 2016 (✪✪✪✪✪✪)
Ted Lemon is winemaker and owner at Littorai, one of the most highly acclaimed producers of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in California. Chenin Blanc was planted in 2014, and the vines are beginning to develop a maturity which is adding intensity to the wines. It’s rare to be able to taste the Chenin unless you’re a wine club member, so sampling both the 2023 and 2016 was a rare treat. In both wines, there’s a combination of power and high acid, a round, creamy, yet very fresh palate. The 2016 showed just how ageworthy Littorai’s Chenins are, with a lively maturity—now that the vines are older there’s going to be even more concentration to the wines.
I.Brand Massa Carmel 2023 (✪✪✪✪✪)
Ian Brand is based in Central Coast and rightly has a stellar reputation. This is a richer style of Chenin Blanc as it is fermented in new oak barrels, for a rich, creamy, round style that’s balanced by very lively acidity. A great example of how Chenin Blanc has the power and concentration to hold up to new oak, even if it’s not a typical style.
DuMOL Sonoma Coast 2022/2018 (✪✪✪✪✪)
DuMOL were founded in 1996, planting Chenin Blanc in 2015, the first vintage 2018. The vineyard is in Sonoma Coast, and is being expanded due to the success of the original plantings. Both the 2022 and the 2018 had a vigorous texture that gave a gripping structure, balanced by very fresh acidity, with the 2018 showing developing maturity. A Chenin producer to watch.
sparkling chenin
There’s plenty of sparkling Chenin Blanc in the Loire, although that’s because it’s often been difficult to get the grapes fully ripe. In both South Africa and California, that’s not an issue so sparkling wine is more of a conscious choice. Many of the sparkling wines tasted at the event were pét-nat, which the aromatics of Chenin are perhaps better suited to than traditional method wines—there was a bit of an imbalance between the lees ageing and the waxy, honeyed aromas in the more mature style. In California, Leo Steen is a Danish producer who specialises in Chenin: the bubbles from Clarksburg were particularly fine (✪✪✪✪). Another California producer, Kareen—of Armenian heritage—makes a very fun Pét-Nat from Lodi (✪✪✪✪), while Silt, also from Clarksburg, have a fresh, waxy, slightly rich style of Pét-Nat (✪✪✪✪).
The event proved that there is lots of high-quality Chenin Blanc being made in both South Africa and California, in many different, individual styles. We should never forget Chenin’s spiritual home, the Loire, but nor should we overlook other regions around the world which showcase the variety’s versatility and complexity.
