Paulus Wine Co. Bartàs Chenin Blanc 2021

If you’re Paul Jordaan, winemaker at Sadie Family Wines, then your own-label wines (made with partner Pauline Roux) are inevitably going to attract extra attention. Bosberaad Chenin Blanc 2021, the fourth vintage from Swartland grapes under their Paulus Wine Co. label was frankly bemusing on account of how funky it was (see here), but Bartàs 2021 from a vineyard planted in the 1970s on the increasingly famous Rustenhof farm in the Lower Helderberg is sensational.

Winemaking involving spontaneous fermentation before 12 months of maturation in old oak, the nose is subtle but complex with notes of pear, quince, peach, citrus, hay, a touch of ginger and some leesy complexity while the palate has great fruit concentration and punchy acidity before a long and pithy finish. All of a piece with great detail. Approximate retail price: R375 a bottle.

CE’s rating: 96/100.

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