A rather rare, very unusual wine… Limited Release Therona
STELLENBOSCH Vineyards on the Lynedoch side of town are one of the very few producers of wine made from Therona grapes, grown only in South Africa. The variety was largely thanks to the late Prof Christiaan Orffer of Stellenbosch University, who in the 1950s crossed Crouchen Blanc with Chenin Blanc – the objective being to raise the standard of Chenin that was being bottled back then. In the foothills of the Stellenbosch mountains where the company sources the fruit from for this wine, there is just one row of Therona, just 100 vines. Talk about a very limited release!
STELLENBOSCH VINEYARDS LIMITED RELEASE THERONA 2022
WO Stellenbosch. Vines planted in 2005. Grapes hand-sorted before going into in a manually-operated basket press. Naturally fermented (wild yeast) in barrel and allowed to age for five months in these second-fill French oak vats. Only 900 bottles produced.
Alc 13.3 | RS 1.5 | TA 5.2 | pH 3.3
Winemakers Abraham de Villiers’ and Bernard Claassen’s Tasting Notes: Aromatic wine that delivers a floral bouquet permeated by flavours of peach and green apple, with a hint of vanilla… The wine can be enjoyed now, but will benefit from bottle-ageing for three to five years after vintage. Serve at a cool room temperature.
Food Pairing Suggestions: most fish or poultry; spicy curries.
R250pb ex-cellar.
Also in this series:
• AA Badenhorst Sout van die Aarde Palomino
• Ayama Vermentino
• Bosman Nero (d’Avola)
• DaschBosch Avon Clairette Blanche
• Diemersdal Grüner Veltliner
• Kloovenburg Lledoner Pelut
• Lemberg Hárslevelü
• Lowerland Tolbos Tannat
• Lozärn Carménère
• Newton Johnson Albariño
Therona is likely to remain very niche… Apparently it was ‘designed’ for warmer conditions, and the Stellenbosch Vyds Ltd Release wine has been wooded since the maiden 2017 vintage. In answer to your third question, however, although the wine is delightful, getting a sizeable number of producers to embrace a new variety is a huge understaking – which is unlikely given that Chenin has become so successful since Therona was conceived of as an improvement on its parent.
Will the cultivar [Therona] adapt to the warming climate? Can it be wooded? Is there a reason why so little is planted?