Chenin Blanc
If Riesling wants to learn how to forge ahead in SWA it should take a look at Chenin Blanc. This is a style that is definitely going places in the Sommelier Wine Awards. Over the past few years it’s won over our tasters with both its stylistic variety and its pricing – and it did so again this year. Five Golds was a record.
In the early stages, our teams generally seemed to prefer the cheaper or mid-priced wines – many of the richer, oakier, more expensive wines were deemed to be lacking in balance. But once these had gone, feedback at the medal stage of judging was very positive, with lots of good wines to choose from. And some of the pricier versions are not bad cut-price Chardonnay substitutes.
From ‘cheap and fresh’ to ‘rich and oaky’ there were really good examples here at prices that were never less than fair. The Cape’s winemakers, in particular, deserve real credit.
It’s a pleasant surprise that the number of Golds here was nearly the same as for the much larger New World Chardonnay category, but the biggest shock, perhaps, is that our standout wine (and Critics’ Choice winner) came not from South Africa, but New Zealand.
From The Tasting Teams
‘The wines actually got worse as they got more expensive. Here, the quality lies in value.’ Harry Ballmann, Folie
‘The wines on the lower end of the price range were well made and could be great aperitifs. The medium- and high-priced wines were slightly overpriced for the quality in bottle, but some were showing great typicity and ripeness of fruit.’ Jurijs Nemkovs, StreetXO
‘Chenin is one of those grape varieties where you don’t expect very much, but we had the full range here: cheerful house wine, fruity and fresh, then at the top end there were interesting wines. Chenin can definitely deliver.’ Sarah Jane Evans MW, team leader
‘The last wine in our flight was £30. It’s difficult to sell South African Chenin on a list at £100 a bottle.’ Janusz Pawel Sasiadek, Mercato Metropolitano
‘The entry level was better than the highly priced wines. There was not enough complexity for that price tag, and they were not balanced.’ José Hernandez, Hakkasan
‘Many of the top-end wines were overworked and didn’t give enough for the price.’ Michael Fiducia, Royal Automobile Club
‘These wines were interesting. In the future they will be more appreciated – the winemakers are working hard.’ Michele Ciciriello, China Tang at The Dorchester
‘Chenin is a brilliant grape variety when it’s sensitively handled.’ Angela Reddin, team leader