"Hat Trick" for Old Vines Chenin Blanc 1998:

Old Vines Chenin Blanc 1998 has achieved a "hat trick" of accolades recently, being rated as best South African Chenin Blanc by local and international judges. The triple success comes hot on the heels of cellarmate Blue White 1997's star performance in the WINE magazine Chenin Blanc Challenge (Feb 2001) where it was scored in the top six out of 84 wines.

The wine, which is made by South Africa's only women's empowerment winery, attracted international attention when it was rated by Germany's Der Feinschmecker (Gourmet) magazine (Jan 2001) among the top 100 wines of the world.

According to writer, Dagmar Ehrlich, the Old Vines Chenin Blanc 1998 was one of the best wine discoveries in Germany, representing superb value for money.

"This is certainly one of the most beautiful wines... of top quality, with wonderful length, well integrated fruit and mineral notes," she said.

The wine shares this tribute with 30 other white wines from around the world and only two other Chenin Blancs, both from Loire producer Chateau Yvonne - the 1997 and 1998 Saumur Blanc "Le Gory", which retail at three times and five times the price in Germany.

In South Africa, the wine has also received acclaim, having just won Wine-of-the-Month Club's Chenin Blanc tasting, rating best out of 17 unwooded wines.

Says producer, Irina von Holdt, "this is a real tribute to the work that we have been doing with Chenin Blanc, or Super Chenin as it is now known, because it was the oldest wine on the tasting and beat all of the wines from the 1999 and 2000 vintages. There is little doubt in my mind that South African Chenins can age gracefully, in much the same way that those from the Loire do, and this just proves it."

According to Irina, the future of South African Chenin Blanc has been considerably improved since the Chenin Blanc Association started focussing attention on the varietal. "More producers are now paying attention to their old Chenin vineyards - vineyards that in the past were often overlooked or pulled up because of their very low yields. The quality of these Super Chenins is due largely to the intense fruit these low yields produce, and of course, the growing knowledge about picking at optimum ripeness. If South African producers pursue this, I have little doubt that we can produce even greater wines, with sufficient depth, finesse and maturation potential to rival the best from the Loire," she said.

The Old Vines Chenin Blanc 1998 has also been awarded a rare four-star rating by the John Platter Wine Guide: 2000 and 2001.

March 2001