LOCK, STOCK AND WINE BARREL

There’s summer wines, and then there’s the refined kind. The kind you need to explain and win people over to. Chenin Blanc is one of those wines. Not to shade Breedekloof (the biggest producers of Chenin Blanc in South Africa) or Chenin producers in SA in general, but this cultivar can be hit and miss.

When it comes to mass-produced wines there’s always a safe zone. These zones are usually mass-produced wines that hit all the right notes and never disappoint. They are not a gamble. But Chenin Blanc, in general, is still finding an audience in SA. But as new people discover it, there is a new way of showing all the advantages of this style of white wine.

Robertson Winery has introduced their Fat Bastard Chenin Blanc, which is really a bottle of summer. Able to be served cold, full of fruit and not too challenging in terms of flavour, it shows what Chenin is – a full white wine experience with levels to its appeal and flavour. It’s a yellow peach with a smack of vanilla that comes together with notes of citrusy lime that really captures South African summers.

If you want to dress it up even further a glazed ham, smoked salmon or a Cape Malay-style prawn curry will go great with this Chenin. Fat Bastard Chenin Blanc retails for between R85 and R95.

TIP: Not ready for Chenin Blanc? Fat Bastard Chardonnay is kept in the barrel with yeast sediment longer than usual so it has a full-bodied taste that adds to the usual profile of Chardonnay.