South African White Wines
…from IWC 2016's South African Specialist Award Winner!
South Africa’s white grape is Chenin Blanc, a local speciality: after all, there’s a lot more Chenin planted in the Cape than there is in its Loire homeland.
We always offer half a dozen pure or Chenin-dominated styles, from thrillingly crisp and mineral via fruity and weighty to oaked examples.
Chardonnay is also hugely successful in the Cape, at every price level, but especially from cooler zones such as the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and Franschhoek. Likewise even if it’s too hot in most of the winelands for Sauvignon Blanc, the best, from cool coastal vineyards, successfully bestride the gap between Loire and New Zealand styles.
The most exciting recent development in the Cape is the emergence of South African white blends as a real national strength: these now come in three styles: Chenin-based blends with a seasoning of varieties from Chardonnay, Sauvignon to oddball extras; white Bordeaux blends majoring on Sauvignon and Semillon; and Rhône blends featuring Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, and Clairette - with perhaps some Chenin.
Filter Wines
Wine Type
Style
Grape Variety
Country
Region
Grower
Dietary Requirement
Vintage
Buy 12
Save £19.14
A brilliant example of what is arguably the Cape’s most exciting and individual style, the...
OriginSouth Africa
RegionPiekenierskloof
ColourWhite
ABV13%
Bottle75cl
CodePIK322
GrapeChenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc & Chardonnay
Buy 12
Save £11.40
From dry-farmed, bush vines, mainly in the Paardeberg and Riebeek Valley, slowly fermented,...
OriginSouth Africa
RegionWestern Cape
ColourWhite
ABV13%
Bottle75cl
CodeFAB123
GrapeChenin Blanc
Buy 12
Save £20.70
Always our benchmark wine at this estate with vineyards at 3,000 feet of altitude in the midst...
OriginSouth Africa
RegionCederberg
ColourWhite
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeCED124
GrapeChenin Blanc
Buy 12
Save £18.90
Secateurs is Adi Badenhorst’s second label. About 10% of this Chenin goes into old oak...
OriginSouth Africa
RegionSwartland
ColourWhite
ABV13%
Bottle75cl
CodeBAD124
GrapeChenin Blanc
Buy 12
Save £11.40
Unirrigated fruit, given some time on the lees; thus surprisingly concentrated for the price....
OriginSouth Africa
RegionWestern Cape
ColourWhite
ABV12.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeCAH123
GrapeChenin Blanc
Buy 12
Save £13.50
Our favourite wine at this estate – a benchmark ever since we shipped the 2002 vintage. The...
OriginSouth Africa
RegionRobertson
ColourWhite
ABV13%
Bottle75cl
CodeGDV124
GrapeChardonnay
Buy 12
Save £45.00
"Lovely greengage, winter melon and kiwi aromas. Light and elegant, absorbing the...
OriginSouth Africa
RegionCederberg
ColourWhite
ABV13.5%
Bottle75cl
CodeCED522
GrapeChenin Blanc
Buy 12
Save £23.94
From vineyards at the very top of the valley, cooled by breezes and the cloud attracted to the...
OriginSouth Africa
RegionHemel-en-Aarde
ColourWhite
ABV13%
Bottle75cl
CodeDDD119
GrapeChardonnay
I came across this ripe, full-flavoured, barrel-fermented Chardonnay in 2020 by splitting a...
OriginSouth Africa
RegionCeres
ColourWhite
ABV13%
Bottle75cl
CodeKOE622
GrapeChardonnay
Buy 12
Save £19.44
About two thirds from the young Sauvignon parcels at high altitude Cederberg, plus a third from...
OriginSouth Africa
RegionWestern Cape
ColourWhite
ABV12.6%
Bottle75cl
CodeCED624
GrapeSauvignon Blanc
Buy 12
Save £19.14
Piekenierskloof (the name of a ward, the smallest geographical unit in the South African...
OriginSouth Africa
RegionPiekenierskloof
ColourWhite
ABV12.5%
Bottle75cl
CodePIK123
GrapeGrenache Blanc
