Chenin Blanc from the Loire & South Africa


A fascinating contrast between this pair – both are very tasty.

Clos du Gaimont Vouvray Sec 2014, Loire, France (£10.99 Virgin Wines)
Starts off all elbows, with taut, slightly bruised green apple and pear flavours tinged with notes of herbs and pebbles, and with its zingy acidity front and centre. But after a while, the honeyed richness emerges, and those herby/waxy fruit flavours flesh out. Good now, but will be much better in 2-3 years. S(-)

The Tea Leaf Chenin Blanc 2014, Piekenierskloof, South Africa (£12.49 Noel Young Wines, WoodWinters)
Still fresh and vibrant, but this is already showing some honeyed development, with fleshy orchard fruit flavours, a musky Oriental tea-like character and a hint of brown sugar. S(-)

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.