This was a new discovery at Cape Wine. It’s  the Rêverie Chenin Blanc 2014 from an old vineyard (1978 plantings) in the Swartland. The soils? Pure granite, no irrigation, picked early (19 Balling), fermented in old barrels. It’s made by Jacques de Klerk whose day job is with Radford Dale. Interestingly, even though this is a warm region, he’s avoiding acidification. ‘Over the years we’ve started to strip everything down a bit,’ he says.

‘I’m exploring the influence of tannin and the sourness and bitterness you get from it. You don’t always need to have massive acidity to get freshness. But you have to have low alcohol.’

De Klerk Family Wines Rêverie Chenin Blanc 2014 Swartland, South Africa
11.5% alcohol. pH 3.56, 4.4 g/l acidity. Very fine and expressive with lovely textured pear and ripe apple fruit. So delicate and fine with a bit of richness to the texture, and such purity. Light but concentrated, this is quite stunning. 94/100

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