Chenin blanc eachway bet

Iam one of the many who have fallen for the charms and delights of chenin blanc.

The latest NZ Winegrowers figures list a paltry 24ha planted here which has it in equal12th spot (with arneis) in the list of white grape plantings. While there are only tiny volumes of New Zealandproduced chenin blanc, we get to see good volumes of this grape from France, along with smaller quantities from South Africa, which holds the largest plantings of this variety (sometimes labelled there as steen).

France’s Loire Valley has long held the mantle as top producer, though for budding wine enthusiasts it does mean getting your head around the appellation system as the wines are labelled by region, rather than grape variety.

One of the most famous is vouvray, situated to the east of the city of Tours. There, chenin blanc creates racy sparklings, along with still wines ascending in sweetness from sec (dry), sec tendre, demisec, and moelleux to the lusciously sweet liquoreux.

Part of the allure of vouvray is its ability to age, with fine examples from good years having enormous potential in the cellar. The added bonus is that these wines are very affordable on release. Labels such as Champalou, Domaine des Aubuisieres and Marc Bredif are widely available around the country in the $25$35 range, offering the nifty eachway bet of gorgeous drinking now, yet capable of blossoming in the cellar.

The importers of Marc Bredif Vouvray occasionally bring in ranges of mature vintages, showing how marvellously these wines can age, recently importing the 1971, 1978 (a

40th birthday treat), 1982, 1989 (a 30th in 2019), 1990, 2004 and 2005 vintages, while some 1999 can still be had.

Chase up your favourite wine store for a bottle!