Beth fell in love with Chenin Blanc when we sent her to the Loire Valley to discover the intricacies of Sauvignon Blanc. Returning with excitement to show off the old vines John had lovingly planted in 1988 at our home block in Renwick, the two excited winemakers also set about expanding our plantings in the Southern Valleys to complement the steely, mineral notes of the gravels with the aromatic punch of the Brancott Clay profile.

The grapes were machine harvested in the cool of the night, cold settled before being racked into our oak cuvées for fermentation (1000L barrels imported from Germany) to add some complexity and accentuate that wet lanolin character of great Chenin.

Analysis at bottling