Cavalli Filly gallops to first place

Cavalli Filly gallops to first place in Winemag Chenin Blanc Report

05/2021 Mike Froud Leave a comment

IT’S NOT OFTEN that the Winemag panel chaired by editor Christian Eedes rates anything higher than 95 on their 100-point scale, but do so they did after sniffing and sipping the 2020 Filly Chenin Blanc from Cavalli Estate on the foothills of the Helderberg in Stellenbosch. Described as ‘profound’, it was the judges’ favourite in a lineup of 90 wines submitted for Winemag’s 2021 Prescient Chenin Blanc Report, with their Top 10 including nine wines termed ‘outstanding’, better than ‘excellent’ – 93+ equating “in the most approximate terms” to 18+ out of 20 or 5 Stars.

Also on the panel were James Pietersen and Jolette Steyn of the Cape Town merchants and cellarers Wine Cellar, who together with Eedes found the Cavalli to have “wonderfully complex aromatics of pear, white peach, lime plus hay and dried herbs…” Amazing value at R130 a bottle, in a class where some leading producers are asking for over R300, and it’s not the first time that this Chenin has shone, with the 2019 vintage rated ‘outstanding’ in Winemag’s previous review of the category.

Only one wine among the Top 10 going for less than R100pb: The Den 2020 under the Painted Wolf label, made from grapes grown in the Swartland and Wellington, selling for just R85 at the producer’s tasting room in Paarl. “A very expressive nose with notes of pear, peach, flowers and herbs while the palate has a dense core of fruit with zesty acidity and a pithy finish…” Full report here.