What is Chenin Blanc called in South Africa?
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Steen
South Africa’s Chenin Blanc revival has now gained such momentum that it is strange to think of the variety – known locally as Steen – as the high-volume workhorse of the country’s wine industry.
Is Chenin Blanc good in South Africa?
great acidity, lots of fruit and minerality, but not overpowering, and become very complex with aging.” Chris Mullineux, Mullineux Family Wines “We think they age really well, especially wines made from older vineyards where we get fantastic pHs.
Is Chenin Blanc a South African wine?
Chenin Blanc is a historic South African cultivar, and there are registered vineyards that are more than 100 years old. These ancient beauties are among the world’s greatest vinous treasures, weathered but grounded and settled, completely in tune to their surroundings.
Is South African Chenin Blanc dry or sweet?
While Chenin Blanc wines produced in the Loire Valley of France are often transformed into sparkling wines, South African Chenin Blancs are used in a variety of sweet and dry styles. Chenin Blanc wine can be dry, off-dry, sparkling, and even sweet dessert wines.
What does South African Chenin Blanc taste like?
What does it taste like? Chenin Blanc in its most classic form in the Loire Valley is full of floral and honeyed aromas and quince and apple-like flavours with good zippy acidity. When cool-fermented as in so many instances in South Africa, it can be quite peardroppy, becoming more peachy in fuller dry whites.
What is the best Chenin Blanc South Africa?
10 top Chenin Blanc wines produced in South Africa
- Cederberg Cellars Five Generations Chenin Blanc 2017.
- DeMorgenzon Reserve Chenin Blanc 2018.
- Durbanville Hills Collector’s Reserve The Cape Garden Chenin Blanc 2018 (new)
- Flagstone Winery Tributary Bush Vine Chenin Blanc 2018 (new)
- Ken Forrester Wines The FMC 2018 (new)
What’s the difference between Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc?
If a wine is medium sweet or dry, there is very little chance it is a Sauvignon Blanc. On the other hand, Chenin Blanc and Riesling are more versatile and can be used to make wines of all sorts of sweetness: from dry to luscious and all measures in between.
Why is Chenin Blanc so good?
Capable of producing a range of wine styles due to its unusual balance of lively acidity against rich flavors, this yellow-green grape shows great breadth in its ancestral homeland. However, Chenin Blanc’s versatility and adaptability to different growing conditions appeal to winemakers around the world.
Is chenin blanc good wine?
Chenin Blanc is argueably one of the world’s most versatile grape varieties capable of producing exceptionally age-worthy sweet wines and a wide range of fine dry wines. Its high acidity also makes it suitable for sparkling wines as well as the base for fortified wines and spirits.
Is Chenin Blanc popular?
But while Chenin Blanc doesn’t seem obscure to wine lovers these days, it isn’t nearly as popular as international grapes like Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Year after year, winemakers in its home region, the Loire Valley, continue to rip out Chenin Blanc vines in favor of these better-known money-makers.