Vinum Chenin Blanc

Southeast Asian cuisine or pork chops with apples.

The gnarled old bush vines that produce this Chenin Blanc are planted in some of the purest granite soils on the foothills of the Helderberg Mountain, in coastal Stellenbosch. The vines are mainly grown under dry land conditions, unirrigate, with roots plunging deep into the earth in search of moisture. The altitude of the vineyards, the steep SE facing slope & proximity to False Bay mean that these vines are well exposed & cooled by winds that come off the ocean during the long, hot summer.

Grapes were picked by hand as well as manually sorted. A gentle destemming &pressing, before setlling in stainless steel tank for alcoholic fermentation. Around40% of the must is transferred to Burgundian barrels for natural fermentation –an equal mix of new, 2nd and 3rd fill. There was a small portion of skin contact.

Founded in 1998 by Alex Dale, Radford Dale set about the Cape in search of exciting vineyard parcels for their chosen specialist varietals. Today, they have two producing wineries. The first is located in Stellenbosch, predominantly focused on sourcing maritime influenced parcels around the Helderberg and Polkadraai. Here, they produce the cult, single vineyard wines of Renaissance Chenin Blanc and Frankenstein Pinotage, and the Radford Dale Vinum range; a set of six wines that consistently overdeliver on style to price. The 2022 vintage marked the maiden release from their own vineyards purchased in Elgin under Radford Dale Organic, with the release of four single varietal Estate wines, the only organic certified vineyards in the region. More recently, they have co-founded South Africa’s first Organic Wine Association. They continue to reintroduce Gamay Noir to the Cape, establishing the first new plantings for some 20 years. It’s a varietal geared up to thrive in warm conditions, and on granite soils. Stylistically, Gamay also embodies Radford Dale’s championing of elegant, refreshing red wines.