Wine of the Weeks – A 93 point rated South African white!! I’m sipping on this wine as I type this up, and it’s blowing my mind. I opened it fresh out of the fridge and liked it but didn’t love it. Now, 15 minutes later and with some temperature increase, I’m seriously flipping out over this stuff. The color is deep yellow/golden, the nose is rich, complex and laced with golden fruits (peach, yellow apple), toffee, herb and mineral, and the palate is full bodied, rich and soft in texture, but still possessing vibrant acidity. It’s got the perfect yin and yang balance going on, and that’s what I look for and find in all wines I deem great. So yes, that 93 point rating comes from yours truly and I’m standing behind that critique no matter what the “expert critics” eventually say. The 2015 A.A. Badenhorst Secateurs Chenin Blanc is our new Wine of the Weeks, it’s delicious, and here is the deal:
The enigmatic Adi Badenhorst is one of the leading personalities and wine producers of South Africa’s much talked about Swartland region. To read more about the evolution of the region and it’s top producers, incuding A.A. Badenhorst, click here to check out a great article from Wine Enthusiast. For our purposes however, it’s most important to note that the region enjoys some serious benefits when it comes to creating world class wines — diverse soils and topography, old vines and low yields, no irrigation, and warm days and cool nights add up to create the viticultural situation that all winemakers dream of.
Adi puts all of these conditions to great use and you can taste it in his wines. For his Secateurs Chenin Blanc, he works with 40+ year old, dry farmed, bush vines as his base. He is dedicated to preserving the natural goodness of these hard working vines and full flavored grapes so he ferments with native yeasts in a combination of concrete tanks and older oak casks. He then ages the wine for several months on its fine lees (yeasts) to extract even more flavor and complexity. All in all, this is a wine that possesses the “stuff” that I typically find in much more expensive white wines………for more on that “stuff,” go back to the first paragraph!
With spring creeping up on us but winter still present, this is that perfect “tweener” wine, meaning it’s rich enough for winter but fresh enough for spring. Try it with scallops, salmon, poultry or pork — it’s very versatile at the table, but it’s also delicious without food.
Josh Spurling
Owner/Operator/Wine Buyer
Table Wine Asheville
828.505.8588