WeeklySA_AdminCRITERIA: Top 10 winning wines set benchmark for the grape globally
By Len Maseko
Rarely does one find a collection of wines, made from the same grape variety and tasted together by a panel of judges to search for Top 10 selection, ultimately declared the best-ever representation of that grape in a country so far.
The operative term here is “best ever” and that rare moment happened yesterday when the Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top Ten Challenge winning wines for the year 2021 were announced and acclaimed as the benchmark for the category to date. “The quality of South African Chenin has never been better”, said the 2021 Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top Ten Challenge judges.
Judging panel chairman James Pietersen said South Africa had set “the benchmark for the grape globally and because of the healthy competitive spirit of innovation amongst local winemakers, the country remains the pre-eminent source of the most exciting and delicious expressions”. For the record, Chenin Blanc is the most widely planted grape in the country and its first plantings reportedly date back to the 17th century. British wine expert Tim Atkin once described local Chenin Blanc as “South Africa’s greatest grape”. Well, the judges should know better, having tasted a staggering 138 local Chenin Blanc wines to arrive at this impressive collective conclusion. For the first time, the judges introduced to the judging process, critically acclaimed wines not entered for the competition, as blind benchmarks, something that lifted the criteria “a notch this year,” according to Pietersen.
“As a panel, it is essential that we evaluate the submissions within the wider context of best in the field. I’m glad to say that even when matched against these non-entrants, we saw a healthy consistency in outcome,” he said.
Immediately noticeable about the judges’ Top !0 Chenin Blanc wines is nine of 10 come from the 2020 vintage, though originating from different winemaking locations. The majority were from Stellenbosch, six of the winning wines, while the rest represented areas such as Worcester, Piekenierskloof, Swartland and Paarl.
Among the Top 10 were newcomers to the competition – Guardian Peak, Le Belle Rebelle and Lievland. Other winning wines, like Stellenrust, have featured eight times in the annual line-up while DeMorgenzon has appeared seven times consecutively since 2015.
This year’s judges included winemaker Boela Gerber of Groot Constantia; sommelier Higgo Jacobs; Penny Setti, former sommelier at Chef’s Warehouse and now owner of Penny Noire wine bar. The challenge is organised by the SA Chenin Blanc Association.
The 2021 Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top Ten Challenge
winners are:
• Bellingham The Bernard Series Old Vine Chenin Blanc Limited Release 2020
• DeMorgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc 2020
• Guardian Peak Donkiesbaai Steen 2020
• Ken Forrester Terre Noire Chenin Blanc 2020
• Kleine Zalze Wines Vineyard Selection Chenin Blanc 2020
• Kleine Zalze Wines Family Reserve Chenin Blanc 2020
• Le Belle Rebelle Solitude Chenin Blanc 2020
• Lievland Vineyards Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2020
• Simonsig Wines Avec Chêne Wooded Chenin Blanc 2019
• Stellenrust Old Bushvine Chenin Blanc 2020
NOTES ABOUT SOUTH AFRICAN CHENIN BLANC
• Many wine drinkers tend to buy wine for immediate enjoyment. Fresh young Chenin Blanc wines answer this call admirably. These wines have seductive fresh fruit and delicate floral aromas and a host of fruit salad flavours, sometimes apple or melon, apricot, guava and pineapple, all backed by firm, crisp, natural acidity that make Chenin Blanc wines so perfectly balanced.
• Oak introduces a great complexity of flavours and a richer mouth feel. Chenin Blanc rewards lengthy bottle maturation. The colour deepens to a gorgeous straw-gold, and honey and nuts are added to the palette of flavours. In South Africa, Chenin Blanc previously held a reputation as a workhorse grape, a vigorous variety with high yields used for simple, large-production wines and the base for local brandy distillation. But the variety has taken on an entirely new image. Today, it produces high-quality wines across multiple styles and appellations within the country.
• Known to acclimate to a variety of conditions, Chenin deftly expresses terroir. Cool-climate selections showcase zippy acidity and notes of citrus peel, while those from warmer appellations offer a broader mouthfeel and ripe melon or apple characteristics.
• Wines from sites surrounded by fynbos, the natural shrublands and heathlands of the Cape Winelands, reflect those herbal influences, in contrast to those from coastal sites that are pinned with an unmistakable saline accent. Granitic soils contribute a linear, flinty mineral character, while wines from clay-rich soils frequently exhibit rounder textures and riper fruit expressions.
• Chenin Blanc initiatives like the Old Vine Project seek to preserve these sites to keep the old vines and soils healthy and viable. Wines produced from such old vines exhibit a natural balance between concentration and finesse. They’re complex wines of depth and intrigue that can cellar gracefully from five to 15 years, if not more.
SOURCE: SA Chenin Blanc Association;
Wine Enthusiast Magazine
