Anna Kirsten who owns the oldest Chenin Blanc vineyard in South Africa with her Chenin Blanc Association Commemorative Certificate

Press release from Chenin Blanc Association

Date: 18 December 2009

Chenin Blanc Association celebrates venerable Cape Vineyards

The Cape is blessed with fantastic old blocks of Chenin Blanc – and this is one of those times that old age is better than youth! Vineyard age really adds to the complexity and character of the grapes and in turn of the wines.

Over the last ten months, the Chenin Blanc Association has been on a quest to find the oldest Chenin Blanc plantings in South Africa. Along the way, beautiful gems have been discovered. Ken Forrester, Chairman of the Chenin Blanc Association describes the aim: “We set out in January 2009 to look for the oldest Chenin Blanc plantings that we could find. We wanted to raise awareness of older Chenin Blanc plantings because these awesome vines produce some of the finest Chenins in the world. It is also important to preserve such old blocks, and to give them the respect they deserve – for they may yield less, but the quality is outstanding. Many of our members are now looking for these plantings to incorporate into their wines.”

The oldest vineyard that has been recorded belongs to Mrs Anna Kirsten of Westridge. Her Stellenbosch block dates back to the dramatic era of Winston Churchill and Jan Smuts – it was established in 1942. The largest block of vines belongs to well known producer, Kaapzicht, and the smallest to Mrs Kirsten. The average age of the five oldest blocks is 60 years, which is an incredible legacy. All the data for the project was sourced from SAWIS (South African Wine Industry Information & Systems), who monitor South African wine production, to ensure accuracy.

The Chenin Blanc Association plans to bottle wines made from these historic plantings to be sold at an auction in 2010 to raise funds for The Pebbles Project*. As Ken Forrester puts it; “These vines represent our past and our future. They are testament to the faith shown in them by these producers over the years, they cared for them when many others would have ripped them out, and the exciting new wines that they will produce are undoubtedly going to add massive momentum to the excellent reputation South Africa has for its Chenin Blanc”.

The Chenin Blanc Association is a grower-based organisation dedicated to the promotion of Chenin Blanc to consumers, both locally and abroad. The association represents 90% of the quality Chenin Blanc producers in South Africa and seeks to grow consumer awareness of Chenin Blanc, highlighting its versatility as a wine, its uniquely food-friendly attributes and its huge contribution to the South African wine industry.

See www.chenin.co.za for more information.

Photo attached: Mrs Anna Kirsten who owns the oldest Chenin Blanc vineyard in South Africa with her Chenin Blanc Association Commemorative Certificate

* The Pebbles Project was established in 2004 to offer support to children with special educational needs in the Western Cape of South Africa.

Message from De Trafford, South Africa:

'Sijnn First Release
We have taken the liberty to notify everyone on our De Trafford mailing list that we finally have the first wines from our Malagas vineyards, near the mouth of the Breede River (Sijnn), ready for purchase. The wines will now be available for tasting and sales from De Trafford Winery in Stellenbosch every Friday and Saturday morning 10.00am to 1.00pm or by appointment while stocks last. Attached are our price list and Platter Wine Guide Ratings, which are very encouraging for the first vintage.

Background to the Malagas Project
This is an exciting new vineyard venture on a stony plateau between Malagas and Cape Infanta approx. 230km east of Cape Town. Together with a few strategic partners, a small run-down ostrich and grain farm was purchased early in 2004. The new and potential vineyards are located 70m above the Breede River, 25 km from the sea by boat and 15 km as the crow flies. At this stage there are no other vineyards within a 40 km radius, the closest being those inland around Swellendam and along the coast at Elim.

The complex stony soils, together with a warm dry climate (350mm) moderated by the constant sea breezes offers excellent vineyard potential and the possibility of producing something unique. As this is quite a pioneering venture, extensive soil studies were undertaken and together with climatic data a variety of proven Mediterranean or southern European varieties have been planted, including Syrah, Touriga Nacional, Cabernet Sauvignon and Trincadeira together with future plantings of Grenache. Chenin Blanc and Viognier have been planted for a white wine blend together with future plantings of Roussanne.'

Amongst the wines on sale is the:
2009 White
A barrel fermented blend of ⅔ Chenin Blanc & ⅓ Viognier. 120 rand (£9.86)

I haven't tasted this wine, although I have always been impressed with their wines, especially the Chenins and count them amongst South Africa's top Chenin producers. I hope to get the opportunity to taste this and the other wines from the Malagas Project in London sometime.

Further details from here.

Golden Chenin in the Layon Valley (Loire) 2005

Talking to the Chenin Kings inside the Chenin zone
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 by Graham Howe
"It was Chenin Blanc's bad luck to have long been treated as the vinous equivalent of Muzak: mindless, off-dry white stuff for so-called 'easy-drinking'. It has been planted at all points of the compass. Yet until recently, exciting dry Chenin Blanc was a rarity anywhere." Stuart Pigott, Planet Wine (Mitchell Beazley Publications, 2004)

Mooiplaas Bush Vine Chenin Blanc 2008 is the second unwooded wine in the history of Wine's oldest competition to win the Chenin Blanc Challenge. Chenin kings Francois Naudé, Ken Forrester and Teddy Hall talk to Graham Howe about South Africa's great white hope.

Wooded white wine has dominated Wine's Chenin Blanc Challenge ever since the inauguration of the competition in 1996. In search of a benchmark style for Chenin Blanc - a variety which often suffers from too much diversity - the judges have favoured wooded, bottled-aged vintages. The shift to three categories of Chenin Blanc - best wooded, best unwooded and best value - may have opened up the competition to more producers. Five unwooded wines made the four-star finalist list (15) in 2009.

"Most Chenin Blanc is unwooded" declares Francois Naude, who won the Chenin Blanc Challenge in 1998 with his unwooded L'Avenir Chenin Blanc 1997. A lonely voice in the wilderness over the intervening decade, he has cried out for recognition of a broader spectrum of Chenin. "To improve the quality and status of Chenin Blanc, we have to motivate the producers - the vast majority make unwooded Chenin."

"Why make Chenin taste like wooded Chardonnay? Chenin Blanc ages better than Chardonnay, needs less attention on the vine than Sauvignon Blanc, is more versatile with food and delivers better value." When producers are paid only R3,500 per ton of Chenin versus R6,500 per ton of Sauvignon, he complains there is not much incentive for Chenin growers to spend time improving the variety through canopy management. The only way out of this catch-22 trap is a make-over of Chenin's workhorse image.

Part of an article published on wine.co.za click here for the full text.

Once again Tim Atkin MW shows what a sound wine commentator he is, this time in Off Licence News 16th January 2009 in an article called A taste of South Africa's future.

'More Semillon please

The one grape I'd like to see more of in South Africa is Semillon, which used to be the dominant cultivar in the Cape in the 19th Century. On the plus side, the variety that replaced it, Chenin Blanc, is South Africa's most individual white grape, even if it is under-valued both at home and internationally.

The top Chenins from the likes of Jean Dancel, Ken Forrester, De Trafford, Raats, Spice Route, Sadie Family, Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards and Teddy Hall are some of the glories of the New World. I'd even go as far as to say that Chenin is what the Cape does best.'

The 2009 edition of Platter’s South African Wines was released in Stellenbosch today along with the five star wines. There were a record 33 five star wines this year – a small fraction of the some 6400 wines sampled by 15 tasters over a mere few months by 15 tasters (with 60 new wineries and brands this year, and about 400 additional wines).

The only Chenin Blanc was the excellent Ken Forrester The FMC 2006, which is aged and fermented in wood.

UK stockists include Swig and Waitrose.

Web: www.kenforresterwines.com

Full report here.

(22nd October 2008)

Bertho van der Westhuizen: the winemaker

Off to L’Oranger at the bottom of St James’s Street for a press dinner to launch various lines from Kleine Zalze, a South African producer based in Stellenbosch and owned by ex-corporate lawyer Kobus Basson. Hosted by Bertho van der Westhuizen, the winemaker, Ross Sleet, the export director, and Stevens Garnier, their off-trade distributor.

I started with a glass of their entry level, attractively fruited and characterful Foot of Africa Chenin Blanc (£5.20). It has a hint of sweetness. Bertho told us that it has less than five grams of residual sugar but my guess is that this is closer to five than to zero. Charles Metcalfe pointed out that the South African conception of dry was closer to the sweeter American one than to the European.

Bertho van der Westhuizen: the winemaker

The Zalze Bush Vines Chenin Blanc 2008 (£5.99) with richly textured, tropical fruit and fresh finish is next step up and worth the extra 79p. As with the first Chenin the fruit is bought in mainly from the southern part of Stellenbosch from vines between 25-40 years old. “This is old in South African terms,” said Bertho. “We are now picking Chenin riper than we used to which gives us greater complexity.”

Then onto the fine and honeyed Zalze barrel-fermented Chenin Blanc 2008 (£7.99). Fruit for this cuvée is chosen from three blocks, fermentation starts in stainless steel tanks before being transferred to 400 litre French barrels – no new wood is used. Any botrytised grapes are included, which shows on the honeyed aromas and rich texture.

Over dinner we drank the 2007 Vineyard Selection Chenin Blanc with the scallops with leeks and truffles and Jurançon dressing. The 2007 had attractive honey and quince flavours but was a less good match with the dish than the more racy 2008 Family Reserve Sauvignon Blanc (£19.99). The scallops were less successful than the delicious and perfectly cooked main course of rump of lamb en croûte of autumn fruits, aubergine and confit tomatoes flavoured with citrus. This dish was full southern French flavours with more than a nod to North Africa.

Our last wine was the Vineyard Selection Chenin Blanc 2006 – not currently available in retail but expected to be £24-£26 on a restaurant list. This series comes from Kleine Zalze’s own vines. The 2006 was wheeled out as an example of how Chenin can age, which was slightly bizarre as some Loire Chenin’s at a little over two years old are barely out of their incubators. To be fair the new winemaking team at Klein Zalze has only be in place for four years or so. However, I suspect that the citric but rich, honeyed 2006 with its touch of oxidation will age well, although whether it will have the same longevity as its equivalent in the Loire remains to be seen.

In my unbiased opinion the Chenins were the stand out wines of the evening but among the other wines we tasted the Zalze Shiraz/Mourvèdre/Viognier 2007 (S:70%, M: 25%, V:5%) was the clear winner in terms of value. This deep flavoured wine has lovely ripe, vibrant red fruits and is a snip at £5.99 (screwcap). This is one of the very rare occasions when the horribly abused expression ‘over deliver at the price point’ could be justified. As is often the case the value of the Family Reserve wines priced at £19.99 is less clear, although they are well made.

Bertho checks his escape route with the manager in case the reptiles get troublesome

A spokesperson declined to comment on whether there are any plans to launch an early morning range called Alka-Zalze.

Kleine Zalze, Strand Road, Stellenbosch 7613, South Africa
Tel: 27 (0)21 880 0717
www.kleinezalze.com

L’Oranger, 5 St James’s Street, London SW1A 1EF
Tel: 020-7839 3774
Web: www.loranger.co.uk

James and Annie: December 2007

It might seem curious to include a New Zealand producer on a site that is devoted to Loire wines. There are, however, good reasons for this. As far as I know James and Annie Milton produce the only serious Chenin Blanc in New Zealand and Chenin Blanc is both the Loire’s most significant gift to wine and the greatest and most versatile grape in the world.

Including fine producers of Chenin Blanc from other parts of the world is entirely appropriate. After all the birthplace of Chenin is Anjou, probably around Bouchemaine, so producers like the Milltons, as well Ken Forrester, Teddy Hall and others in South Africa, are outposts of Loire excellence, although they have the undoubted misfortune of living far from the wonderful valley. See links in right column under Chenin outposts.

The following is an extract from a two-part article I wrote on the Circle of Wine Writers trip to New Zealand in November 2007. I was able to stay on for another 12 days, so was able to make a special journey to Gisborne to see Annie and James.


4th December 2007 James and Annie Millton at Millton Vineyard, Gisborne
My final visit in New Zealand was to see James and Annie Millton at their biodynamic vineyard in the Gisborne region. As Millton Vineyard is a strong candidate for making the best Chenin Blanc outside the Loire Valley and I have long liked their Chenin, I had to visit them before I left NZ.


Within moments of meeting James he was complaining that Gisborne was off the radar of the New Zealand Wine Growers and wanted to know why the Circle trip hadn’t come through this region. Although there is no doubt that making a special effort to visit Millton Vineyard was – vaut le voyage, it is also easy to see why Gisborne is often left off the itinerary of visiting writers. In short the place is out on a limb. It’s just over 200 kilometres from Napier to Gisborne and its 200K of hard driving – up and down and round an endless series of sharp bends. Driving north towards Opotiki is just more of the same, although, of course, there is some fine scenery.

Another reason is that there are few producers in Gisborne, although Montana has substantial plantings, particularly Chardonnay, and has their Lindauer plant based here. There are just 11 wineries listed in Cuisine Wine Country.

A block of Chenin Blanc@Millton Vineyard

Gisborne is the most easterly town in New Zealand. James and Annie set up their vineyard in 1984 and went biodynamic in 1985, so they were amongst the first in the world to do so. I was lucky to have the chance to have a vertical tasting of their Chenins from 2000 through to 2006, although the 2002 was missing as there is none left. The styles vary considerably from vintage to vintage depending on whether there is any botrytis. All had lovely fruit characters and good balancing acidity and plenty of life left in them. James kindly pulled out an 1985 Millton that was still wonderfully fresh – far more impressive than a Marc Bredif 1986 Grande Année that he also kindly pulled out. The Grande Année was dilute and uninteresting. Fortunately the other treat – a 1964 Vouvray from Bourillon d’Orleans – upheld the Loire’s reputation.