Two winners each for Alvi’s Drift and Stellenrust in Chenin Challenge

WHAT a lovely line-up of champions in the Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge. Not one from a cellar in the Swartland, Bot River or Paarl in 2020… But hey, two wines from Worcester winery Alvi’s Drift, a first-time winner in this competition convened by the Chenin Blanc Association of South Africa. And while Stellenbosch didn’t dominate, four cellars from the district showed again how consistently good their Chenins are regardless of vintage: DeMorgenzon, Kaapzicht, Spier and Stellenrust, another producer taking credit for more than one of the Top 10 here.

There are close to 300 Chenin farmers in the country. From these come hundreds of good single-varietal wines, let alone the many blends involving other grapes, and the number of Chenins with good track records in the SA Classification stands at over 60, representing almost every area in the Cape where they grow vines. Of the 136 wines assessed by the judges on this occasion, panel chair James Pietersen said that there was “a clear link between wine quality and older, established vines”. He remarked that: “Seven of the Top 10 wines were harvested from vines 35 years old at the very least.”

Also noteworthy is that one of the winning wines – Stellenrust Chenin Blanc 2019, also one of the Top 10 in the 2020 Winemag Report on the category – is completely unoaked, with the wooding regime of the others mostly involving used and/or large-format barrels. “We see it as confirmation that oak is in no way an absolute as far as depth and complexity are concerned,” said Pietersen, taking time off from his duties at Cape Town merchant Wine Cellar. Also on the panel were Groot Constantia cellarmaster Boela Gerber CWM, sommeliers Higgo Jacobs, Penny Setti and wine marketer Tinashe Nyamudoka.

 

WINNING CHENINS

Albertus Viljoen Chenin Blanc 2019
R240pb from Alvi’s Drift cellar, Worcester

Alvi’s Drift 221 Chenin Blanc 2019
R90pb ex-cellar, Worcester

Badsberg Chenin Blanc 2019
R125pb ex-cellar, Breedekloof

DeMorgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc 2019
R430pb ex-cellar, Stellenbosch Kloof

Durbanville Hills Collectors Reserve Cape Garden Chenin Blanc 2019
R160pb ex-cellar, Durbanville

Kaapzicht Kliprug Chenin Blanc 2019
R160pb ex-cellar, Bottelary, Stellenbosch

Mulderbosch Chenin Blanc Block S2 2018
R275pb ex-cellar, Polkadraai Hills, Stellenbosch

Spier 21 Gables Chenin Blanc 2019
R230pb ex-cellar, Stellenbosch

Stellenrust Chenin Blanc 2019
R68pb ex-cellar, Helderberg, Stellenbosch

Stellenrust Stellenbosch Manor Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2019
R150pb ex-cellar, Helderberg, Stellenbosch

 

• For the analyses of these wines and information about their oaking and the age of the vines, click here.

 

 

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2 comments

  • Uwe Böbs

    The Swartland Chenins are supposedly some type of benchmark when it comes to Chenin Blanc – at least the newer, more complex and richer styles. Or is that all hype? Another is the Forrester Meinert FMC, undoubtedly a benchmark. Yet I am “concerned” and ask questions when I do not see these wines featuring in the Top 10 Chenin Blancs of the country (as per the latest two biggest SA competitions, the Standard Bank CB Top 10 and the Prescient WineMag Top 10).

    There are two big reasons, in my opinion, why certain excellent wines, which over time have started acquiring some sort of iconic status in their categories, do not enter these competitions:
    1. There is too much for them to lose. The FMC certainly would be in illustrious company had it entered (and presumably made the Top 10, that is). This is a sad and selfish reason, but understandable. Like the Sadies and other Swartland producers, the FMC needs to keep its loyal following. As do wines in other categories, for example the Hamilton Russell Chardonnay. Sadly we hardly see a professional panel compare these benchmarks. The danger of course, should this continue, would be that they are losing their “status” as so-called benchmarks if they never appear in the Top 10. A replacement wine, like the Stellenrust BF CB or the DeMorgenzon Reserve are starting to replace the Swartland wines and the FMC and their iconic and benchmark status.
    2. The other reason why they possibly do not enter is simply that they are truly not good enough. Is that a fair question?

    There are articles which rightly point out the high calibre of other top Chenin Blancs which are being raved about in SA, with similar write-ups including exclamations of “powerful”, “big”, “bold”, exquisite”! I am particularly referring to some Swartland CBs from the so-called “new-kids-on-the-block”. That was some 10-plus years ago. Question is, are they still holding firm? Why then do we not see them compare with others in competitions? Of course it is the winemaker’s prerogative and freedom of choice to enter these competitions… or not. But, these high-rollers should know… it’s always tough at the top!

  • As to why there are no Swartland Chenins in the 2020 Top 10. This in response to a question from Top Wine SA, given that there are some worthy contenders from this district. “The Swartland has been a driving force in awakening the awareness and uptake of old vine Chenin. Their stories are well documented and these have either featured in ground-breaking blends or super small-batch cuvees that sell out on allocation and release. There is no doubt that these have contributed to SA’s standing internationally, but so too the amazing wines that have been highlighted in the Chenin Challenge! The likes of Sadie Family Wines, Mullineux, Alheit Vineyards etc never enter any blind-tasting competitions. Entries are voluntary, so there is no space to ensure that these wines are entered. However I can confirm that some Swartland wines were in the final line-up.”

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