As a boy, I used to ride up and down this tiny little wine ward visiting friends whose parents were wine farmers, some of them now part of the 9 leading vineyards owners who joined forces with Distell to form the Durbanville Hills Winery to pay tribute to the regional individuality of this unique and cool wine regional. Cool in terms of temperature and in fashion.
The grapes for the Durbanville Hills Chenin Blanc 2016 come from a single vineyard, 5.5 hectares in size which produced an even handed 10 tons per hectare. The vineyard is without slope.
Carefully monitored by consultant Viticulturist Henk van Graan, the grapes are brought to the cellar and delivered to Martin Moore, the founding Cellarmaster and Kobus Gerber, the white wine maker.
There they were gently crushed and slowed minimal skin contact before draining the juice off the skins. Cold soaked overnight it was racked off its primary lees, with a little bit added back to fill out the palate. After fermentation, the wine was matured on its lees for three months. This not only builds up mid palate flavour, but also adds a creaminess to the wine. The wine was then prepared for bottled.
It looks like
Bottled under screw cap in a Burgundy shaped bottle, the bottle has the striking diamond shaped Durbanville Hills livery. In the glass, it is gem bright, pale straw with green flashes.
It smells like
Classical Chenin stuff. Ripe tropical fruits, guava, melon and desiccated pineapple. Slice of lime and Granny Smith Apple.
It tastes like
Though dry, this wine is packed with sweet tropical fruits that follow through form the nose. Crisp star fruit and kiwi. Medium plus of body with a long tail of zippy fruit.
It’s good with
Well chilled, it makes a great glass on its own, though of course Chenin Blanc is a fabulous food wine. It shines with oriental food. To accompany the wine as an early evening snack Tracy Foulkes’s Fresh Pea Pesto & Ricotta Bruschetta hits the spot. Click here for her recipe.
Read more about Durbanville Hills Wines and buy online – CLICK HERE
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