Chenin

The Chenin Blanc is a versatile white grape variety that produces dry, sweet, dessert and sparkling wines in its home environment, the Loire Valley.

Best known for the off-dry table wines of Vouvray, Anjou and Saumur but these wine are being re-invented by progressive winemakers achieving success with aromatic dry interpretations and sensitively oak matured Chenin Blancs. The variety has a wide palette of flavours ranging from pear, apple, melon, tropical fruits to woolly, mineral and damp dog! It is marked by high acidity, and therefore the ability to make good base wine for the sparkling Cremant wines of the Loire.

Although there are few plantings in Europe outside the Loire, the variety has been widely planted in the New World. Chenin Blanc that has been grown in hotter climates retains its natural acidity. In South Africa (where it has been known as Steen in the past) it is successful in producing dry white table wines.

Well made examples exhibit almost Sauvignon-like lemon and grassy aromatics and zingy fresh palate. In Argentina, Australia and New Zealand Chenin plays a less prominent solo role but works well in combination with Chardonnay, Viognier and Sauvignon.