2023 Thistle & Weed Springdoring Chenin Blanc

The Swartland is the spiritual home of South African Chenin Blanc, and Thistle & Weed are masters of hunting down the region's most resilient heritage blocks. The Springdoring - named after a persistent local burr - comes from a 1982-planted bush vine vineyard on the Paardeberg Mountain. These vines are rooted in pure granite and face East, which shelters them from the brutal afternoon heat and preserves that critical "nervous tension" in the grapes.

Winemaking is low-intervention but precise: whole-bunch pressed, wild fermented in old French oak, and left on lees for nine months to build texture. There’s no new oak here to muddy the waters; it’s all about the granite and the fruit.

This is high-definition Swartland Chenin. You get the trademark savoury notes, green apples, aromatics alongside grapefruit and lime. The palate is pristine and crystalline, with a mineral, saline edge that cuts right through. It’s edgy, layered, and has a fantastic pithy grip - such great value for the class of this Chenin.

96 points
"Grapes from a Paardeberg vineyard planted in 1980. The nose shows hay, lime, white peach and a hint of flinty reduction. The palate is lithe and energetic – good fruit concentration, well integrated acidity, the finish pithy in texture and nicely savoury."
- Christian Eedes (Wine Mag)