South Africa, Stellenbosch, 17 September 2021; Simonsig Wine Estate has been named among this year’s champions of the Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10, having entered what is arguably one of the competition’s most intriguing wines to date.

The winners were announced yesterday, with Simonsig’s Chenin Avec Chêne 2019 selected as one of the Top 10. Reflecting the winery’s legacy for often taking the road less travelled, the wine hails from a single vineyard planted in 1986, whose fruit was harvested over a period of intervals, and vinified – in small part – using an unorthodox winemaking technique.

The result is a wine that lights up with aromas of citrus blossom and lemon tart on a backdrop of stone fruits and nuts. On the palate, it reveals flavours of white peach, gooseberry, and dried fruit while a touch of oak contributes complexity and spice. In fact, it’s the fine use of wood maturation to which the name, French for Chenin with oak, alludes.

Commenting on its crafting, winemaker Charl Schoeman says the fruit was harvested at four different intervals according to ripeness. “The first harvest provides elegance through acidity and fruit; the second and third at optimal ripeness, for balance and well-developed fruit characters; and, the final harvest, for body and complexity on the palate.”