Le Chant Chenin Blanc 2023

Le Chant is the Polkadraai Hills property belonging to the Oddos of France, whose other holdings in South Africa include Taaibosch and Pink Valley. The focus here is on making a bid-volume, mid-market red blend but when they acquired land, it came with a 0.85ha block of Chenin Blanc planted in 1985. If the maiden 2021 vintage as made by winemaker Petri Venter was sound enough, the newly released 2023 is a step-up in quality (2022 not tasted).

The 2023 saw fermentation in both small stainless-steel tank and barrel before maturation in a combination of tank, barrel and cement. The nose shows lime, peach, thatch and fynbos while the palate posses a dense core of fruit, zesty acidity and a pithy finish (alc: 13.5%). It’s quite backward and austere at present but it also has the presence that old vines typically bring. Price: R220 a bottle.

CE’s rating: 93/100.

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