SOUTH AFRICAN OLD-VINE CHENIN
Chenin Blanc is arguably South Africa’s greatest vinous asset. Christian Eedes blind-tasted 75 from old vines planted across the Cape, and here picks his 18 highest-scoring wines
The story of South African Chenin Blanc is nothing if not convoluted. It is one of the oldest varieties in the country, the conventional wisdom being that it arrived with the Dutch settlers in the 17th century. For a long time it was known as Steen, and it was only in 1963 that it was found to be the same as the Loire’s famous white grape.
During the 20th century it grew to be South Africa’s most widely planted variety and remains so to this day. Why? For one thing, the KWV, functioning as a sort of super cooperative, gave incentives for decades on the basis of volume, rather than price, and high-bearing Chenin proved itself useful in this regard.
Perhaps the grape’s defining moment, however, was in 1959, when Stellenbosch Famers’ Winery (SFW), an important producer-wholesaler, launched Lieberstein, a low-cost, semi-sweet white, which became the world’s largest-selling branded wine of its era. Chenin was an important constituent of the blend, and this resulted in a spate of plantings.
As recently as 1990, Chenin Blanc comprised more than 35% of the national vineyard. Post political transformation, however, the tendency was to replace it with more fashionable red varieties. Of South Africa’s 92,067ha currently under vine, Chenin Blanc now makes up 17,103ha, or 18.6%.
Old vines, meanwhile, are defined as being at least 35 years of age based on industry convention, and of the 3,693ha registered as such (in 2020), approximately half is Chenin Blanc.
Better with age
While plantings have fallen in recent times, there has simultaneously been a growing awareness among more farsighted producers that the variety has an affinity to local growing conditions and, moreover, that mature vineyards can play a key role in producing wines of excellence.
Plantings are not confined to any one area, and vineyards are not under any sort of consolidated ownership, with the result that it is still relatively easy for aspiring winemakers to gain access to fruit. A key part of the extremely high quality that old-vine Chenin shows, therefore, is the outcome of healthy competition among the winemaking fraternity.
The old-vine phenomenon gained extra momentum in 2016 when the Old Vine Project was set up with funding provided by businessman Johann Rupert. It’s the outcome of a process going back some 20 years.
Leading viticulturist Rosa Kruger utilised a South African Wine Industry Information & Systems vine registry to scour the land and seek out these old vines. This ensured the most interesting grapes went to producers who could make notable wines from them and consequently ensure appropriate remuneration for the grower.
More than 90 producers have now signed up as members and can apply an official Certified Heritage Vineyards seal to their wines designating the year of planting of the relevant vineyard.
Flavour concentration is the easy answer to what makes old-vine Chenin special, but it’s more than that, as Chris Alheit of Alheit Vineyards explains. ‘In all the massive swathes of Chenin, there are bound to be some good sites: soil, aspect and microclimate combining to best effect, hence why a vineyard has stayed in the ground,’ he says.
‘Mature vineyards have the ability to cope with tough seasons better than young vines do by virtue of betterestablished root systems. I’ve seen vines self-regulating: lowering crops drastically in dry conditions. Also yields are lower, which means good natural concentration even at moderate ripeness. Dry farming rather than irrigation is important too. Many factors combine to contribute to the quality of old-vine Chenin.’ D