False Bay Slow Chenin Blanc 2024

False Bay "Slow" Chenin Blanc, Coastal Region, South Africa, 2024    

Grape: 100% Chenin Blanc, old bush vines, sustainable farming, hand harvested, wild yeast ferment, minimal intervention winemaking (only adding sulphur at bottling), aged on lees for 10 months, unoaked

Producer Tasting Note: 

The long wild yeast ferment provides bready aromas and additional complexity to the wine. Dried herbaceous notes, including fennel and aniseed from the nearby Fynbos, dominate the nose, followed by a creamy lemon character. The palate is reminiscent of the nose, with great textural complexity (attributable to the long, slow wild yeast fermentation), and more herbal characters. 

Critic's Tasting Note:

"“Bruised orange, baked apple and honeysuckle leads into tangy grapefruit and peach on the textured palate with fresh acidity.”"

90/100 points (Silver Medal), DECANTER WORLD WINE AWARDS, 2025

The False Bay wines are made by Waterkloof's talented young cellar-master, Nadia Barnard, and represent exceptional value for money. Their Chenin Blanc is a consistent medal winner, vintage after vintage.

Food Match: A versatile wine equally well suited to partner lobster and other seafood, risotto or herb roast chicken. Can also handle spice very well.