Characteristics

In cool climates, Chenin Blanc gets aromas of lime, lemon and green apples. As you move towards more moderate climates, the grape has aromas of stone fruits like peaches and apricots. In warmer climates, you’ll get expressions of tropical fruits like mango and pineapples in your Chenin Blanc.

Winemaking

The above features mean that Chenin Blanc is made in a broad range of styles. Some producers make a clean style in inert vessels, while others ferment and mature their wine in oak vessels. Due to the high acidity, premium quality Chenin Blanc can age in the bottle for many years.

France

Vouvray in Loire Valley: Vouvray AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée), is located in the Loire Valley in France, it is a classic region for Chenin Blanc. Here wines are produced in a wide range of styles – dry, off-dry, medium, sweet and sparkling wines. Dry wines here have green fruit flavours like apples. Off-dry and medium styles are labelled as demi-sec.

Winemakers use ripe or Botrytis-affected grapes with tropical fruit flavours to make sweeter styles. Wines from Vouvray mostly do not undergo the process of oak ageing to maintain their fruitiness. However, there are exceptions like Savennières which are often oak aged. The wines have the ability to age and develop notes of honey and dried fruit.

Savennières in Loire Valley, France: This appellation is known to produce some of the best quality wines in the Loire region. The wines made here have intense flavours of straw, beeswax and chamomile. Some of the best examples from this region also have a distinct minerally taste to them. The wines are oak aged and after spending half a decade or so in a bottle, their structure gains complexity and the steeliness mellows down considerably.

South Africa

Chenin Blanc is South Africa’s most widely planted white grape variety. It is prized here for its ability to retain high acidity in a warm climate. The winemakers make inexpensive wines using grapes from warmer regions and often blend them with other grape varieties such as Chardonnay.

Meanwhile, premium wines are produced from old vines that yield small quantities of concentrated fruit with aromas of tropical fruit like pineapple and mango, with notes of vanilla from oak maturation. Some producers also make a refreshing aromatic style by blending Chenin Blanc with Viognier.

The key appellations here are Stellenbosch and Swartland where old vines are producing flavourful wines with tropical notes of pineapple, banana, guava and melon.