Chenin
Chenin
Intellego 2020 Chenin Blanc
South African White
Hay, naartjie, peach and cut apple appear with fresh acidity and a gently savoury finish. The medium-bodied wine is made entirely from Chenin grown on a single Paardeberg hillside vineyard of nineteen-year-old bush vines. Hand-harvested fruit is whole-bunch pressed with solids, and spontaneous fermentation takes place in neutral 500-litre French foudres. The wine ages eleven months on gross lees without bâtonnage and is bottled unfined and unfiltered with a small sulphur addition.
Domaine de la Paleine Saumur Brut NV
French Sparkling
Chenin, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Grolleau Gris make up the blend in proportions of sixty, twenty, ten and ten percent. The biodynamic vineyard is Demeter-certified, with clay-limestone soil and twenty-five-year-old vines. After stainless-steel fermentation, the wine referments in bottle to produce fine bubbles. Ageing lasts eighteen to thirty-six months. Disgorgement uses no added sugar or sulphites.
Domaine Mosse 2021 Bisou Vin de France
French Red
Raspberry colour accompanies blackberry, cardamom and fresh fig. The wine is light and fruity, with a direct attack and a tangy finish. Grolleau Noir, Grolleau Gris, Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Chenin are vinified separately with four-to-ten-day semi-carbonic macerations. Ageing lasts eight months in foudre. Indigenous yeasts are used, and the wine is bottled unfiltered with twenty-four milligrams per litre of total sulphur.
Harvey & Harriet 2022 White Blend San Luis Obispo County
American White
Tangerine, pineapple and honeydew accompany a creamy texture and bright acidity. The blend is fifty percent Chardonnay, eighteen percent Chenin Blanc, fourteen percent Grüner Veltliner, ten percent Albariño and eight percent Viognier. Mineral, spice and lees notes are also present, and the finish shows understated oak. The wine comes from San Luis Obispo County on California’s Central Coast.
Arnaud Lambert 2022 Brézé Clos de Midi Saumur Blanc
French White
Pears, herbs, white pepper and spices appear in a satiny, medium-bodied profile. The wine is pure, precise and tense, with salinity and a long, delicate finish. Chenin comes from southeast-facing vines in Brézé, planted on sandy clay over chalk. The fruit was matured only in stainless-steel tanks. The vineyard is farmed under certified organic and biodynamic standards.
Bodet-Herold 2019 Physis Crémant de Loire Brut Nature
French Sparkling
Chenin comes from a southeast-facing site with light, well-draining Turonian chalk and resurfacing limestone; Grolleau grows on heavier clay-rich marl. Whole clusters were pressed at low pressure, with first-press and end-of-press juice separated. Ambient yeasts drove fermentation, malolactic conversion was blocked, and the wine rested briefly in stainless steel. Bottling took place in spring, followed by thirty months on lattes and a low dosage.
Pierre-Olivier Bonhomme 2019 Tuffeau Chenin
French White
Chenin grows on white chalk beneath shallow topsoil. The profile combines ripeness with the grape’s acidity, while minerality and salinity are present. Élevage lasts about a year in demi-muids, followed by another year of bottle ageing. The fruit comes from an organic grower in Vouvray, and whole clusters are pressed before fermentation in neutral oak.
Domaine de Baumard 2022 Pic Martin Sec Anjou
French White
The colour is pale straw with brassy highlights. Green apple, tart peach, lanolin, chamomile, crushed stone and almond are present. Stone fruit, green pear, white flowers and linen are also present. The palate is light and crisp, with balanced acidity. The finish is long, with sea-salt and quince notes. Grapes are harvested by hand, pressed gently, fermented at low temperature and matured for nine months in stainless-steel tanks.
François Chidaine 2020 Les Argiles Vin de France
French White
Apricot, honey, citrus, pear and apple accompany a broad, dry profile with fresh acidity. The mid-palate is rich and rounded, and the finish is textural, with subtle apple-pie notes. Chenin grows in deep clay and white chalk above tuffeau. Indigenous yeasts ferment in six-hundred-litre demi-muids, where the wine also matures on its lees. The vineyard is farmed organically and biodynamically.
Ken Forrester 2018 The FMC Chenin Blanc
South African White
Chenin comes from low-yielding bush vines planted in nineteen seventy-four on Clovelly soil. The fruit is hand selected at full maturity. Fermentation and maturation take place over twelve months in new four-hundred-litre barrels, with time on the lees. Pear, lemon, peach and apricot appear with honeysuckle, dried apricot, vanilla and honey. The profile is fresh, and the finish is long and pithy.
Moulin Touchais 2005 Coteaux du Layon
French Dessert
Yellow fruit, honey and a dry botrytis core are present. The palate has richness, acidity and a rounded texture. Chenin is the sole grape. The wine comes from Coteaux du Layon in the Loire Valley, contains ninety grams per litre of residual sugar and thirteen and a half percent alcohol. Candied-fruit notes are also present in this still white dessert wine.
Domaine Guiberteau 2021 Saumur Blanc Le Bourg
French White
Lemon, almond and apple flavours appear with chilli spice and salty notes. The white is light bodied and firmly poised. Chenin Blanc comes from a one-hectare plot in Brézé, below Clos des Carmes, on sandy-clay soil over soft tuffeau limestone. Vines were planted in the 1940s. Whole bunches are pressed, fermented naturally and matured for twelve months in used barrels.
Moulin Touchais 1996 Coteaux du Layon
French Dessert
Orange-bronze colour shows green at the rim. The nose is broad and open, with honeycomb in a rich, concentrated profile. The palate is clean and pure, with fresh acidity balancing the sweetness. Old Cognac, toast and vanilla appear on a persistent finish. Toffee apple and minerality are also present. The vintage developed without botrytis influence.
Moulin Touchais 1985 Coteaux du Layon
French Dessert
Gold colour accompanies sweetness, intense richness and acidity in a full, opulent texture. Baked apple, apple jelly, pink pineapple, flowers, honey and grapefruit are present. Confit peach, pear and toast add further detail, alongside a savoury hint and a phenolic finish. The wine is made from Chenin Blanc in Coteaux du Layon, Loire Valley, and contains 13.5 percent alcohol.
Nicolas Joly 2024 Clos de la Bergerie Savennières Roche-aux-Moines
French White
Tonic character, fine bitter notes, vibrant texture, ripe-fruit flavours and freshness are present in this Chenin. The seven-hectare parcel has moderately sloped, east-facing ground and schist soils, with vines around thirty years old. Biodynamically grown fruit is vinified without chaptalisation, temperature control or a second yeast addition. Ageing takes place in seasoned oak, with one or two rackings and batonnage, and the wine is unfiltered.
Moulin Touchais 1968 Coteaux du Layon
French Dessert
Amber colour accompanies an oxidative profile reminiscent of Amontillado, with olive, dried apricot, brine, toffee and walnut. The wine has welcoming sweetness and freshness, while the finish is almost malty and long. Made from Chenin Blanc grapes, this sweet white comes from Coteaux du Layon in the Loire Valley. Alcohol is listed at twelve-and-a-half percent.
Domaine du Closel 2018 La Jalousie Savennières
French White
Bright gold colour accompanies acacia, linden, citrus and mineral notes. The wine is dynamic, with fine acidity and balance. Chenin grows on schist and is picked early; the wine is dry, direct and saline. Vinification takes place in tanks, followed by maturation on fine lees without oxygen. Pounded apple, quince, acidity and salinity are also present.
Domaine du Closel 2015 Les Caillardières Savennières
French White
Bright light-gold colour accompanies a slight oak note, vanilla, sweet spices, ripe peach, apricot, sweet citrus and beeswax. The palate is dense and fresh, with intense stone fruit, bright acidity, stony detail and a long, persistent finish. Chenin Blanc comes from Savennières. The estate was already farmed organically and added biodynamic methods from this vintage onward.
Philippe Foreau 2017 Vouvray Clos Naudin Demi-Sec
French White
White-tea tannins, vivid tangerine acidity, honeyed apple and citrus cream appear with ginger and toasted macadamia. The finish is subtly toasty and long. Chenin Blanc is fermented naturally and aged in old barriques. Malolactic fermentation is blocked, and no chaptalisation is used. The off-dry style carries twelve-point-six percent alcohol and comes from Vouvray in the Loire Valley.
Donkiesbaai 2022 Steen Chenin Blanc
South African White
Fresh straw colour accompanies peach, lime, macadamia nougat, elderflower and oak. The Chenin is round and rich, with mineral detail and a full, balanced finish. Grapes were destemmed, crushed, pressed and settled overnight. The wine uses a combination of stainless steel, French barriques, concrete eggs and clay amphorae. It is dry, with 13.11 percent alcohol and 1.9 grams per litre residual sugar.
1006 Vins de Loire 2021 Celeste Chenin Blanc
French White
Chenin from a single parcel of twenty-five-year-old vines grows on sandstone and puddingstone soils in Anjou. The plot was in its second year of conversion to organic farming. Grapes are hand harvested and pressed slowly into French oak, where fermentation begins with natural yeast. The wine spends seventeen months in second-fill French oak barrels and is made without animal products.
Brendan Stater-West 2022 Saumur Blanc
French White
Citrus and saline notes accompany a light Chenin Blanc. Fruit comes from a selection within the Les Chapaudaises parcel in Bizay, on a lower north-eastern slope. Clay, sand and loam lie above limestone at the site. Fermentation and vinification take place in stainless steel, with some fine lees retained during six months of maturation. Alcohol is 12.5 percent.
Patatsfontein Wines 2023 Steen Chenin Blanc
South African White
Wet stone, herbs and earth accompany a fine, linear white with focus and texture. The Chenin comes from a 0.6-hectare block on slate soils at 800 metres. It was racked earlier than previous releases and spent ten months on fine lees in used 400- and 500-litre barrels. The finished wine carries 12.5 percent alcohol and is sealed under cork.
MMAD Vineyard 2021 Blewitt Springs Chenin Blanc
Australian White
Citrus peel, cumquat, wet stone, hessian and sea spray accompany a long profile with crisp acidity. One third of the hand-picked fruit is whole-bunch pressed to old French-oak puncheons. The remaining grapes receive skin contact and ferment in concrete before transfer to puncheons. The vineyard was planted in nineteen thirty-nine on Maslin sands with ironstone pebbles, and the finished wine carries 12.5 percent alcohol.
Domaine Guiberteau 2019 Saumur Blanc Clos de Guichaux
French White
Dry and medium-bodied, with citrus, green apple and subtle floral notes. Ripe pear and honey accompany crisp acidity, mineral structure and a saline finish. This Chenin comes from Clos de Guichaux, a monopole planted on shallow clay-limestone over chalk. The winemaking includes whole-cluster pressing, native-yeast fermentation, fine-lees ageing, older barrels and tank maturation, without malolactic fermentation.
Château Moncontour 2022 Vouvray Cuvée Prédilection Brut Magnum 1.5 L
French Sparkling
Fine bubbles accompany floral aromas, apricot and a persistent finish. Made entirely from Chenin in Vouvray, this sparkling white shows pale straw colour and balance. The cuvée is produced by the traditional method. The floral and apricot details sit beside its fine mousse, pale colour and balanced character. It is presented here in a 1.5-litre magnum format.
Thierry Germain Domaine des Roches Neuves 2016 L’Echelier Blanc Saumur Chenin
French Wine
Lemon and grapefruit open with white peach, delicate florals and a touch of honeysuckle. The palate is straight and energetic, combining tangy fruit with notable aromatic depth and a clean, focused texture. Citrus freshness keeps the wine lifted while the fruit gains quiet concentration through the middle. The finish is rich yet precise, lingering on white peach, lemon, flowers and fine mineral detail.
Domaine du Closel 2018 Clos du Papillon Savennières Magnum 1.5 L
French White
Baked quince and dried apricot open into crushed almond, beeswax and a subtle flinty edge. The palate is concentrated and textural, with orchard fruit and a savoury marzipan note balanced by firm, rocky acidity. A fine bitterness adds definition rather than weight, carrying herbal and mineral detail through a long, dry finish. Decanting will help the layered character settle into focus.
Alheit Vineyards 2019 Huilkrans Chenin Blanc
South African White
Orchard fruit, pear skin and yellow apple unfold with citrus peel, ginger flower and a subtle savoury note. The palate is poised and energetic, combining bright layered acidity with saline drive and a gravelly mineral texture. Natural fermentation and a year on the lees in seasoned barrels bring depth without heaviness, leading to a precise, persistent finish.
Clau de Nell 2018 Chenin Blanc
French White
Lemon, chalk and a gentle yeasty note lead into a broad, finely textured palate. Ageing on fine lees in seasoned French oak brings creaminess and quiet depth, while bright citrus, salinity and mineral grip keep the finish poised. Biodynamically grown and bottled without fining or filtration, it pairs beautifully with roast chicken, richer fish dishes or aged goat cheese.