 2011 Chenin is a variety which seems to be on the edge of its comfort zone when grown in the coolish climes of Martinborough It ripens late, it is usually the last variety we pick each year) sugars never accumulate to dizzying heights and the natural grape acidity remains rampantly strong. To achieve balance in the resultant wine is thus tricky so we deliberately stop-ferment to leave a level of residual sugar to counteract the somewhat twangy acidity –though just how much is the subject of considerable debate! When we get it right, the effect is like one of those little electric candles flickering and flashing warmly in the mouth. This wine is attractively coloured like a large round straw bale stacked under a macrocarpa hedge and proudly displays short, stocky legs which are a sign of pleasingly lower alcohol. The nose is powerfully proactive with an intense hydrangea pungency coupled with an enticing lemon curd sweetness. Steaming apple strudel, served in a Gasthof high in Northern Tyrol springs to mind and is followed by soft-fleshed yellow jubes and hints of angostura bitters and dried walnut shell. The palate too is so much larger than life. A swage of pith-cutting acidity is the first batter up to the plate and is followed closely by a finely honed team of all stars which pack a combined punch like a mercenary All Black Centre in a heavy weight boxing bout. The mouth watering flavours are persistently persistent like an ill mannered child in a sweetshop and there is an electric power struggle between the sneaky 24g/L residual sugar; the cheek puckering phenolics and the hard wired acidity, which will keep you coming back for more just to see which way the scales will tip. The calming sprig of thyme in the finish makes the wine cry out for a bowl of creamy mushroom soup plucked freshly from an autumn field. As songster James Reid said, “if this is a feeling, I want it to grow”
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We believe our Chenin Blanc is best served at approximately 11 degrees Celsius. |
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