It’s Time to Swap Your Chardonnay for a Chenin Blanc

Chenin Blanc is usually overshadowed by its extra well-known white-grape counterparts (ahem, we’re taking a look at you, Chardonnay). However it’s positively a mistake to place this child in a nook. 

One of many world’s most versatile grape varieties, it’s comprehensible that this workhorse may very well be neglected or misunderstood within the sea of choices obtainable. However, like all celebrated varieties, the most effective ones shine in greatness. Their distinct traits and penchant for reflecting each terroir and approach rise like few others. 

Originating from France’s Loire Valley, Chenin Blanc now thrives globally, particularly inside the winelands of South Africa, the place the grape dates to 1655. The grape displays a masterful skill to showcase shiny acidity, ripe fruit flavors, complicated textures, and a definite connection to terroir.

However what makes Chenin Blanc such a powerhouse is its capability to span a large number of types, from recent and fruity or crisp, mineral-driven expressions to full-bodied, oak-influenced wines and past, and at surprisingly accessible costs. The vary of types might be pushed by local weather and site-specific nuances, or molded to swimsuit numerous palates.

Able to ditch the anticipated? Discover all this dynamic selection has to supply, and why it deserves a everlasting place in your wine stash. Listed below are 4 types of Chenin Blanc and a dozen bottle suggestions to match, impressed by the Chardonnay you would possibly already adore.

Wealthy and Creamy

For those who cherish the buttery, toasty richness of a California Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc can ship an identical expertise in oak-aged expressions. Search for wines from hotter climates that had been fermented and spent some critical time in oak, usually labeled as “wooded” Chenin Blanc, which augments the grape’s orchard-fruit tones and supple texture with hints of vanilla, toasted nuts, and baking spice. 

South Africa’s Stellenbosch area can yield opulent Chenin Blancs of this nature, like Simonsig’s Chenin Avec Chêne (with wooden) or Ken Forrester’s The FMC, named for the wine’s collaborators (Forrester Meinert Chenin), however colloquially known as one thing way more colourful (trace: it rhymes with “ducking mind-blowing Chenin”). Each showcase creamy layers, wealthy wooden tones, and opulent mouthfeels, but every nonetheless retains the grape’s signature acidity.

Mineral-Pushed Magnificence

For followers of Chablis or calmly oaked Chardonnay from exalted appellations, lean into Chenin’s crisp, mineral-driven expressions from a variety of terroirs around the globe. In France, take into account the Loire Valley’s Savennières or Anjou areas, the place the grape thrives in soils wealthy with schist, slate, or limestone. Saumur Blancs, like these from Domaine Guiberteau or Château de Villeneuve, supply laser-like precision, zesty citrus notes, and pronounced minerality, all with out breaking the financial institution. 

For South African single-site picks that talk of assorted soil sorts in a approach that may make even essentially the most religious Burgundy fan swoon, search out any of Mullineux’s single-site Chenins — Granite, Iron, and Schist — from Swartland. They zero in on the appellation’s major but distinctively numerous soil sorts. Or select Alheit’s number of expressions sourced from distinctive websites throughout the Cape Winelands. 

Shiny and Fruity

Not everybody wants an enormous, flashy wine. Those that take pleasure in juicy, vibrant, and fruit-forward Chardonnays from areas like Oregon or Carneros could admire Chenin Blanc when wooden is not noted of the vinification combine. 

South African classics, such because the Raats Authentic Unoaked Chenin Blanc from Stellenbosch and Beaumont Chenin Blanc from Walker Bay, excel at this fashion. They provide pronounced flavors of ripe pear, yellow apple, and tropical pineapple which can be balanced by vigorous acidity for a refreshing palate and mouthwatering end. Within the U.S., Washington State has labored with the grape for greater than 75 years, although plantings have diminished considerably over the previous couple of a long time. A stalwart? L’Ecole No. 41, which has produced its old-vine, snappy and fragrant unoaked Chenin Blanc since 1987.

Glowing Brilliance

For bubbly lovers of blanc de blancs Champagne, or different Chardonnay-based glowing wines, Chenin is a hidden gem. The grape’s pure excessive acidity makes it excellent for distinctive glowing wines, significantly within the Loire Valley and South Africa, with crisp bubbles, inexperienced apple freshness, and a contact of brioche. 

Within the Loire, Chardonnay might be added to the combo, however many Crémant de Loire picks showcase Chenin as the first selection, together with Chateau Pierre-Bise Brut, now crafted solely from the grape, and Arnaud Lambert’s Château de Brézé Brut. 

In South Africa, the highest title within the glowing sport is Méthode Cap Classique, or MCC, a traditional-method glowing wine fashion usually made with traditional Champagne varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier). There are a handful of uniquely South African MCC sparklers constituted of Chenin, although they are often difficult to seek out stateside. For those who’re prepared for a hunt, observe down Sparklehorse Brut to ship you off to the races.