Ken Forrester, Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch 2021 (13.5%)

£15.95-£16.99 Cambridge Wine Merchants, Frontier Fine Wines, NY Wines, The Fine Wine Co, The Great Wine Co, Wine Direct

We’ve had Chenin Blancs from the Loire in our Best in Show selection previously, but never yet a Chenin from the country with more of this variety planted than any rival nation: South Africa. That changed this year with this stylish Chenin from Stellenbosch. Gone was the over-fleshy, over-crafted style often associated with ambitious Cape Chenins in the past. This pale gold, pure, fine-fruited wine hints at honey, spring flowers, pear and quince in its focused, almost lacy aromas, while the palate is graceful and deftly balanced, with a stony residuum that suggests deep-rooted old vines. An outstanding Chenin, perfectly pitched both as a variety and as a Stellenbosch classic.

One imagines that the success and status enjoyed by the evergreen Ken Forrester could only be the result of a lifelong pursuit of winemaking excellence. Not so.

‘I never imagined I’d be in wine,’ recalls Forrester. ‘I worked in hotel management, but a mid-life crisis and a whim at an auction left me as the owner of a 50ha Stellenbosch vineyard first planted in 1689 – New World? Humbug!’

Forrester’s reputation has arguably been carved out by Chenin Blanc, and while his legendary Chenin, The FMC, is regularly garlanded with awards, taking the spoils here is a wine declared by Forrester’s ‘most serious critic’, his wife Teresa, as her favourite ever vintage.

‘The ocean proximity and slight elevation of our site ensures a cool breeze throughout the summer, and we relish this “cool sunshine”,’ he says.

‘We’ve farmed this land sustainably with regenerative viticulture since 1993. This wine was the “ice-breaker” in 1994 and my colleagues were astounded that I was going to ferment in French oak. My mentor at the time was Bernard Germain of Château de Fesles in the Loire, who was years ahead of his time, and we finally did it – thanks Bernard!’