Under the Influence of Chenin Blanc in Cape Town

Thursday’s Chenin Blanc deconstruction was an intimate affair as ten of us gathered around some of the country’s best Chenins. Once again a beautifully still Camp’s Bay evening allowed us to setup at the bottom of the Roundhouse Restaurant’s gardens.

Teddy Hall’s entry level wine, aptly called Summer Moments, whet our palettes and proved again that decent enough quality can still be found on a shoestring budget. A comparison between the 2008 and 2009 Remhoogte Chenin Blancs led to a split crowd on which was better, some liking the 2009’s slightly lighter body and others enjoying the hints of melon and vanilla more prominent in the 2008.

In anticipation of the Beaumont Chenin Blanc there was a discussion around the Beaumont Hope Marguerite and the delight of discovering one has been rewarded with an allocation, however small or large! The Beaumont Chenin Blanc’s entrance on the evening can be compared to a carefully planned party with all the promise in the world, the first few guests have been making polite conversation and then all of sudden enough people arrive and the party’s rocking. Roasted butternut, pumpkin seeds and floral aromas in comparison to the earlier melons and vanilla were already showing us how versatile Chenin can be.

One of our regular guests, let him be known as Harry, was kind enough to bring something to the table in the form of a bottle of Crios Bride Chenin Blanc 2007. Certainly a pearl, and one that I had never tasted – a wonderful oily and waxy texture to another Swartland masterpiece!

Before engaging with the big five of the evening we savoured the contents of our glasses and harked on about the interesting history of Chenin in South Africa. It has gone from having a complete monopoly in the vineyards a few decades ago (>80% of planted vines) down to a meagre proportion compared to the past (<30%). One of the wonderful claims to fame of the Chenin is that the average age of the vines is so much older than other more recently introduced varietals!

From then on there were some tough choices to make! With De Trafford Chenin Blanc ‘09, Raats Chenin Blanc ’08, De Morgenzon Chenin Blanc ’08 and Rudera Robusto Chenin Blanc ’08 all before us we had some heavy work ahead of us. Needless to say, moments of euphoria and glees of delight interrupted the night sky on more than one occasion! The pinnacle of the evening was still to be reached though, a single bottle of De Trafford Straw Wine gently soothed away any remaining stresses from the week – sticky and sweet, a real treat for the evening!

More notes on this experience can be found from the hand of one of our Guests – click here for more.