Zalze Bush Vine Chenin Blanc White Wine, 750ml

Product Information

Chenin Blanc is not necessarily the first grape variety to come to wine lovers’ minds, or lips. Perhaps, however, this under-recognised grape should be reconsidered, as the impressive number of wines awarded Master, Gold and Silver medals in our inaugural Global Chenin Blanc Masters competition indicates. This Masters competition has been one of the highlights of our judging year with excitement found at every price point and style. A stunning, albeit expensive wine, comes from an area not well-known for Chenin. Oliver Zeter, a producernégociant in the Pfalz region of Germany, makes a serious wine that appealed to the judges so much that they gave it a Master Award. Foot of Africa – Carefully selected Chenin Blanc, Shiraz and Viognier are used for these affordable wines. The grapes for this wine came from a couple of old (average age: 30 years) Chenin Blanc vineyards around Stellenbosch. Careful canopy management was done to ensure enough sunlight, but protected the grapes against direct sunlight. The average yield of these wonderful old vineyard was 4t/ha. Vintage Zalze Range – Chenin Blanc, Mourvedre, Viognier and Viognier are grown on the Zalze estate are used for this range.

Layers of naartjíes, apricots and cling peaches with hints of flint and fynbos. Delicate oak flavours finishes the wine beautifully. This wine can be enjoyed now, but with careful cellaring it should age gracefully over the next 10 years. Vineyards

Cellar Selection – Sauvignon Blanc, Cinsault, Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay are used for these accessible wines. In our inaugural Global Chenin Blanc Masters competition, Patricia Stefanowicz MW discovers from South Africa to Canada, producers of wine made from this white grape are crafting top-quality drops.

MCC – These are wines made from the traditional Method Cap Classique style, and the finest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are used for this range. Kleine Zalze Cellar Selection Chenin Blanc – this crisp and refreshing white wine has aromas of ripe pineapple and guava that jump out of the glass. Full tasting note and wine making – Robertson winery changed that when it introduced variety-specific offerings — merlot, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, sauvignon blanc and others. AB 30, 33-38, 41-45, 51-56, DD 8-9, FK 19-21, IV 1-18, 30-37, 40, 41-49, 51 -56, 63, KA 15-17, 27-28, KW15-17, PA 20-49, 60-78, PH 15-26, 30-44, 49, 50, HS 1-9, ZE 1-3

There were also some superb wines from unexpected sources. Big Head Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake in eastern Canada produces concentrated, elegant wines, with just a bit of Botrytis adding extra complexity. These signal a new region’s capacity for serious Chenin wines, and for their near-neighbours in upstate New York. Chenin Blanc grown in the Okanagan in western Canada also seems to be successful. There were also a couple of interesting wines from Maharastra in India, and one or two from Mendoza in Argentina, and from California too. Kleine Zalze concluded the 2021 harvest by mid-April. The wine is all safely in the winery and we are very happy with the vintage and extremely excited at this early stage about the exceptional wines that will flow from the 2021 crop. Excellent winter rains and late rains into spring ensured good moisture content in the soil with the onset of the growing season. The prolonged cool spring weather meant that bud burst was about two weeks later than normal and slightly uneven. The subsequent moderate to cool weather during flowering and berry set continued into the rest of the growing season. The much cooler than normal growing season meant that we started harvest two weeks later than normal. The cool weather also persisted through the harvest period leading to not only exceptional acidity in the grapes and wine but the best acid balance ever seen in our grapes and wine. The harvest was briefly interrupted by a fairly large rain event, of nearly 60mm, early in March. This was initially a cause for some concern. However, moderate and dry weather following the rain actually ensured a long healthy ripening for our grapes and the late ripening varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, reached physiological ripeness at lower sugar levels than normal. All in all, the vintage resulted in wines that have amazing balance and finesse and what they may not have in power they will make up with great purity and elegance. Winemaking