Alcohol: 13,3%
Grape(s): Chenin Blanc
Localization: Swartland, South Africa
Tasting Notes: This wine spent time on its lees in concrete tanks and old casks, which gives incredible texture and palate weight to the wine. The aromas are flinty with honey, orange blossom, and white stone fruit notes. The vintage was characterized by a long ripening period in mild conditions and has the effect of good ripe flavors and fresher acidity than in previous years.
Food pairing: Enjoy it with a garden salad with strawberries, watermelon, and juice from a Meyer lemon.
Notes: The Chenin Blanc grapes are mostly from their farm, Kalmoesfontein situated on the northern side of the Paardeberg Mountain. Their neighbor also supplies us with some exceptional old vine fruit – making us the world’s smallest co-op. They maintain that high-quality fruit comes from old un-irrigated bush vines grown on a variety of granite soils that are naturally low-yielding. Most of their Chenin vines were planted in the late 1960s to mid-1970 and tend to yield around 4 tons/hectare.
The Domain: AA Badenhorst Family Wines are grown, made, and matured on Kalmoesfontein farm in the Swartland appellation of South Africa. The 28 hectares of old bush vines grow in the Siebritskloof part of the Paardeberg mountain.
The property is owned by the dynamic and good-looking cousins Hein and Adi Badenhorst. They are originally from Constantia. Their grandfather was the farm manager of Groot Constantia for 46 years. Their fathers were born there and farmed together in Constantia, during the days when people still ate fresh vegetables and Hanepoot grapes, drank Cinsault and there were a lot fewer traffic lights and hippies still had a presence. Together these two have restored a neglected cellar on the farm that was last used in the 1930s to make natural wines in the traditional manner.
