KLEIN KAROO Chenin Blanc of note, from one of the ambassadors for the region Louis Le Sueur van der Riet. Small batch, hand crafted, very limited quantity and one of the Top 3 in Winemag's 2024 Prescient Report for which 75 expressions of the variety from various parts of the Cape winelands were reviewed. 95 points and selling for less than R150 a bottle – around half the average price of the other Top 10 Chenins in the report!
To put the wine together at the Jakkalsvlei cellar outside Herbertsdale where he is the cellarmaster, Van der Riet trucked in grapes from Meiringspoort to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the east – a two-hour drive either way. Winemag panel chair Christian Eedes' comment on the end result: “Expressive aromatics with top notes of blossom, herbs and fynbos before citrus and white peach. The palate has good fruit weight and well-integrated acidity, while the finish is long and dry.”
LE SUEUR CHENIN BLANC 2023
WO Klein Karoo. Blended Chenin Blanc: 60% of the grapes harvested at the end of January from a vineyard on arid ground in the warm, dry climate of Meiringspoort; with 40% harvested mid-March from a younger vineyard on the cooler, northern slopes of the Outeniqua Mountains. Fruit from the two vineyards vinified separately: after a couple of hours skin maceration, the juice from the Meiringspoort grapes pumped into foudré (large oak barrels) for natural fermentation (wild yeast), after which the wine was left on the lees (spent yeast) for 10 months; whereas juice from the Outeniqua grapes was racked to stainless-steel tanks for fermentation using a selected yeast strain, after which the wine was left on the lees for four months. 800 bottles.
Alc 13.7 | RS 3.8 | TA 5.7 | pH 3.3
Winemaker's Tasting Notes: Light gold with green tinge. Bouquet of peach, pear, apricot and wild flowers, opening to quince and soft vanilla oak. Silky palate with layered flavours of sweet tropical fruit, lime and dried apple. Integrated acidity and rounded vanilla oak tannins with mineral finish. Full bodied.
Pairing Recommendations: Braai'd chicken or pork fillet. Also works well with creamy mushroom pasta or pan-fried yellowtail. R125pb ex-cellar.
