Spier Farm House Organic Chenin Blanc 2021

This wine offers dried apricots, fresh vanilla pods, hints of citrus and pineapple on the nose. The rich, mouthwatering palate of quince, zesty lime and golden delicious apples culminates in a lingering, wet stone, crisp finish.

At Spier Farm, the differences in altitude, aspect, solar radiation and wind exposure result in significant mesoclimate differences over short distances. This vineyard has been biodynamically farmed to enhance the vines’ natural fauna & flora and accentuate the grapes’ intrinsic characteristics. These old vines planted between 1983 and 1985 yield thicker skinned, smaller berries, full of flavour and structure.

This, coupled with variations in soil (mainly Escourt/Pinedene transitioning to Cartef), creates a terroir that ensures full and complex wines with unique character and style.

The grapes were hand harvested, pre-cooled in the cellar, followed by meticulous hand-sorting of the bunches and small batch whole-bunch pressing. The natural yeast flora completed alcoholic fermentation, which was temperature controlled in a combination of older French oak barrels and ceramic eggs. 20% of the blend was fermented on the skins to extract maximum flavour and tannin structure from the berries, benefitting from the thicker skins of the 38-year-old vines. Only the best barrels and eggs were selected at the end of the 10-month ageing on the lees for the final blend. A low-intervention approach was used throughout the winemaking process. To align with the biodynamic ethos, the wine was bottled unfiltered and unfined. It may deposit a sediment; this is natural. Decant, or allow the wine to settle before pouring.