Pro Wein: Düsseldorf 17 au 19 mars 2019

DISCOVER SOUTH AFRICA TASTING ZONE HALL 9 B48 chenin blanc

>> AFTERNOON: 14:00 – 17:00 In the afternoon you will be able to get a glimpse into South Africa’s famous Chenin Blancs. Each of the five pods will showcase a different style for this formidable grape in order to highlight the versatility and complexity of South Africa’s most widely planted grape.

CHENIN BLANC Old Vine Fresh and Fruity Rich and Full- bodied Older Vintages Sweet `

Chenin Blanc: Old Vines Old vines make wines with a unique character, wines that reflect the vastness of our South African landscape. The Old Vine Project was formally established in 2016 and wants to preserve vines older than 35 years by creating an awareness of the heritage of old vines. It is estimated that there are just over 3,000 hectares of vineyards in South Africa that are 35 years and older – about 1% of total plantings – with 1,300ha Chenin Blanc.

Chenin Blanc: Fresh & Fruity (Unwooded) Many wine drinkers tend to buy wine for immediate enjoyment. Fresh, young South African Chenin Blanc wines answer this call admirably. These wines have seductive fresh and delicate floral aromas and a host of fruit salad flavours, sometimes apple or melon, apricot, guava and pineapple, all backed by firm, crisp, natural acidity that make Chenin Blanc wines so perfectly balanced.

Chenin Blanc: Rich and full-bodied (Wooded) Traditionally, most South African Chenin Blanc was made in a fresh and fruit-forward style. Recently, though, there has been more attention placed upon rich, oaked selections that display depth of flavour, power and potential to age. Full ripe, rich textured wines with oak barrel fermentation and ageing make for complex powerful wines. The use of oak, (whether new or old, but a definite move towards subtleness) all help to create wines with more complexity and character.

Chenin Blanc: Older Vintages It is well-known that Chenin Blanc has the ability to age well. The naturally high acidity of the variety, rich fruit and lushly textured palate give the promise of longevity. With ageing, Chenin Blanc becomes richer and more complex and starts to show honey, hay and spiciness that makes older Chenin Blanc so desirable.

Chenin Blanc also has the ability to show great power with elegance and freshness, perfect for food…great acidity, lots of fruit and minerality.

Chenin Blanc: Sweet Chenin Blanc produces some of the world’s most stunningly balanced dessert wines. Their concentrated flavours result in intense, layered wines in which decadent fruit flavours of dried apricots and honeyed peaches are matched with cleansing acidity. The most common methods of production in SA include selective late harvesting and partial drying. Late harvest wines are produced from grapes that are typically infected with Botrytis cinerea.