Wine Club – Chenin Blanc

In our ongoing quest to try as many regions and wines as possible, this month we took a look at two Chenin Blancs. The first was from South Africa and the other was from Vouvray in Loire France. I was excited about this meeting as I have had very limited exposure to Chenin Blanc and South Africa and France are two wine regions that I have a soft spot for.

"Nice but forgettable"

Here is the LCBO information on the wines -

Lammershoek Barrique Chenin Blanc 2007

VINTAGES 58206
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.95
Wine, White Wine,
13% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: South Africa, South Africa
By: Lammershoek Winery
Release Date: May 24, 2008

Description - South Africa produces some of the best Chenin Blanc wines in the world and this is a great example. With grapes hand-picked from 40-year-old bush vines and hand-sorted to ensure only the very best fruit is used, Lammershoek's Chenin Blanc is the embodiment of a hand-crafted wine. Rich with honey, smoke and baked apple aromas, this dry, full-bodied wine is elegant and complex and will pair well with rich seafood, roast chicken and pastas in a cream sauce.

Château Moncontour Vouvray Demi-Sec 2006

VINTAGES# 16709
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 17.95
Wine, White Wine,
12% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : MS
Made in: Loire, France
By: Chateau Moncontour
Release Date: Apr 26, 2008

Description - Grown in mostly clay soils, the Chenin Blanc grapes for this Vouvray are pressed slowly and gently before being cool fermented in stainless steel. Delicate yellow in colour with green tints, it has charming floral aromas (typical for the grape), and flavours of juicy apple and pear. The wine's sweetness and acidity are in perfect balance. With summer just around the corner, this wine would be wonderful for a picnic with fresh fruit salad and brie.

The first difference you’ll notice between the two wines is the colour, the French Chenin Blanc is more of a greenish-yellow, similar in colour to what you would expect a Sauvignon Blanc to be like. The South African Chenin Blanc was more a golden yellow colour and reminded me of the colour you would see with a Chardonnay.

The nose on the two wines were quite different as well. The French Chenin Blanc had a strong green apple aroma with honeysuckle lurking in the background. The South African Chenin Blanc had a deep floral aroma with lemon zest and a smoky vanilla aroma to it as well. Interesting enough, most Wine Club members thought the South African Chenin Blanc would be the sweeter of the two wines by the nose.

Tasting the wines, the French Chenin Blanc had a sugared grape fruit and lime flavour to it with fresh acidity but an awkward finish that I wasn’t keen on. The South African Chenin Blanc was extremely dry compared to the French one but had a nice citrus flavour, good acidity and was much larger in body compared to the French one.

A wine club member brought in some crackers, Brie and blackberries to go with the wines. The South African one was the better of the two wines with the Brie and crackers but the French was better with the berries.

The South African was the favourite by a vote of 10 to 1. For me personally, I liked the South African Chenin, wasn’t too keen on the French one but even the South African Chenin Blanc wasn’t a bottle I rush out and by 3 or 4 more of.

Cheers,

Mark