Chenin Blanc – 15 wines to try on #DrinkChenin Day

The third Sunday of June might be Father’s Day but the third Friday is a special date for wine lovers: International Drink Chenin Blanc Day. Since the first edition of the Chenin Congress, the Fédération Viticole Anjou Saumur, has further extended celebrations for the whole third week of June under the hashtag #FandeChenin.

Time to celebrate the Loire native, South African pioneer variety in all its characterful diversity. And a great pretext to explore the many styles and producers that have earned it worldwide fame.

Indigenous to the Loire, rooted in South Africa

Chenin Blanc is indigenous to the Loire, where it has been grown for centuries, possibly more than a millennium. The French Renaissance polymath, and Touraine native, François Rabelais (1494–1553) mentions the variety, both as Chenin and its common Loire synonym Pineau, in his writings. Other local synonyms were Anjou, Plant d’Anjou, Gros Pineau, Pineau d’Anjou and Pineau de la Loire. The variety’s enduring name has its most likely origin in the monastery of Montchenin, from where it was propagated across the Touraine region, to then return to its birthplace in Anjou under its new name.

However, although Chenin Blanc has its historical origin in the Loire, where its most classical and diverse expressions hail from, it found a second spiritual home in South Africa, the country where some of the variety’s oldest plants, dry-farmed bush vines, can be found.

Further afield, Chenin Blanc can also be found in California’s Central Valley (although mostly for the production of cheap wines from high-yielding vineyards), Australia, New Zealand and throughout South America.

Classical versatility

Chenin Blanc shares important characteristics with Chardonnay and Riesling; it has the former’s capacity to respond to different winemaking approaches without losing its character, and the latter’s ability to express minute terroir variations and produce wines across a range of styles. With both, it shares the medium to high acid and the adaptability to different growing conditions, expressed through an aromatic spectrum that ranges from stern minerality to ripe orchard fruit. As such, although perhaps not as highly regarded as those other two historical counterparts, Chenin Blanc can rightly be placed among the wine canon’s must-know classical varieties. Its long history and the quality and diversity of the wines it produces certainly justify it!

The fact that it is a vigorous and fertile grape (although vigour is greatly impacted by soil type) made it a favourite of growers in high production areas such as the Californian and Chilean Central Valleys. But it is on poor challenging terroirs – like Loire’s Savennières schist slopes – where yields are naturally kept in check, that Chenin thrives. In cooler climates, allowed to hang on the vine long, its susceptibility to noble rot produces some of the world’s most elegant and balanced sweet wines.

Scroll down to discover 15 top-scoring Chenin Blancs

The latter is the case in the middle of the Loire valley, where Chenin Blanc dominates (further inland Sauvignon Blanc is the main variety, and Melon de Bourgogne reigns supreme as the river meets the Atlantic) and it produces wines across an excitingly diverse range of styles; from traditional method sparkling to age-worthy botrytised sweets, by way of mineral-driven whites that could not speak more of terroir.

In South Africa, where one in every five vines is a Chenin Blanc (or Steen, as it is known locally) plant, the variety was, for a long time, material for less than interesting cheap plonk. In the last decade of the 20th century, however, a renewed interest in the country’s unique stock of old vines – which prompted the creation of the Certified Heritage Vineyards programme – along with a burgeoning community of young, quality-minded producers, has elevated it to national treasure. Names like Ken Forrester, AA Badenhorst, David & Nadia, Eben Sadie and Mick and Jeanine Craven, are producing world-leading examples, focusing on the quality of fruit from historial bush-trained plots and experimenting with skin-maceration and fermentation/ageing in different vessels.

DWWA 2025: Award- winning Chenin Blanc wines

Sparkling

France

Bouvet Ladubay, Ogmius Brut, Saumur, Loire 2015
Platinum, 97 points
A cascade of crushed rocks and seashells shower over the zesty citrus and green apple fruit with a compelling savoury complexity spilling out. Delightful lemon acidity infuses the soothing creamy mousse and decadent mineral length. Alcohol 12.5%

Monmousseau, Cuvée Ciselée Brut, Crémant de Loire NV
Gold, 95 points
Jubilant aromas of green apple, freshly picked white flowers and pastry with a fine mineral backbone, energetic mousse and pristine saline conveyance on the finish. Alc 12%

Ackerman, Bulle Royale Brut, Saumur, Loire NV
Gold, 95 points
A harmony of greengage, green apple and pear drop entices and entangles with the creamy effervescence. Beautifully concentrated and mouth-filling with an attractive grapey finish. Alc 12.1%

Still White

France

Aubert, L'eveil des Sens, Vouvray, Loire 2023
Gold, 96 points
A delightful interplay of succulent tropical fruits, honeyed florals and bright minerals with a mouth-filling texture, poised acidity and ravishing fruit culmination at the end. Alc 13.5%

Domaine Des Fontaines, Confidence De Novembre, Bonnezeaux, Loire 2022
Gold, 95 points
Laden with lemon curd, custard, marmalade and Tarte Tatin opulence which oozes over the voluptuous palate and is lifted by the saline crunch of acidity. Stunning. Alc 11.9%

South Africa

Simonsig, Langbult Steen Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch 2024
Gold, 96 points
Glorious honeysuckle florals and blossom aromas combine beautifully with juicy melon and white stone fruit whilst enhancing the crisp sherbet acidity and long, elevating finish. Alc 13%

Donkiesbaai, Steen, Piekenierskloof, Citrusdal Mountain 2024
Gold, 95 points
Typical old vine Citrusdal Mountain character unleashing honeyed melons, apples and peach cordial onto the superb waxy texture and lime zest acidity, with a long fennel finish. Alc 13.5%

Endura, Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc, Voor Paardeberg, Paarl 2023
Gold, 95 points
Deeply golden and clingy with intense peach, yellow apple and orange fruit interspersed with spiced ginger crumbs. Generous and entrancing with a long, herby finish. Alc 14%

Ken Forrester Wines, The FMC, Stellenbosch 2024
Gold, 95 points
An scrumptious glassful of apple compote and honeysuckle with a delectable twist of mineral brine and grapefruit acidity to invigorate, finishing up with a quenching tug of quince. Alc 13%

Bellingham, The Founder's Series Freda, Coastal Region 2021
Gold, 95 points
Smacked with oyster shell and gun flint charm over rippling lime curd layers of creamy texture. Generous and bold with a savoury tension on the finish. Alc 13.5%

Survivor, Reserve Chenin Blanc, Swartland 2022
Gold, 95 points
Bold toasted brioche, baked peach and custard aromas welcome and entice with a seamless freshness that runs through the palate to the long chalky finish. Alc 13.5%

Spier, 21 Gables Chenin Blanc, Cape Town 2022
Gold, 95 points
Steely, cedary and sophisticated on the nose, giving way to a lush buttered brioche and lime marmalade complexity on the palate, finishing with crisp juicy apples. Alc 14.5%

Nederburg, Heritage Heroes the Anchor Man Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2024
Gold, 95 points
A delightful perfume of citrus blossom, peach skin and pineapple layers nicely over the profoundly concentrated palate, offset by a fresh acidity and stylish mineral streak. Alc 13.5%

Cederberg, Nieuwoudt Five Generations Chenin Blanc, Cederberg 2023Silver, 94 points
94 Silver
Pink Lady apple and greengage overlay peach blossom and lemongrass, leading to zippy acidity, gentle oak influence and mineral-tinged length. Alc 13.5%

Chile

Longaví, Cementerio, Maule 2023
Gold, 95 points
Boundless Chenin typicity: honeyed spiced apples, stone fruits and florals which overlap with the earthy, savoury complexity and an ethereal acidity that persists to the finish. Alc 13.5%

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