The Mentors Chenin Blanc 2022

ageing : 

The wine may be enjoyed immediately or cellared for up to five years.

This is a Chenin blanc from the Swartland region, produced from one old vine block, which produces a very rich-flavoured wine. In fact, Chenin blanc seems better suited to regions such as this than cooler alternatives. We first produced Chenin blanc wine under the KWV The Mentors label in 2006. Looking at previous vintages today, the significant stylistic evolution in our winemaking and interpretation of the Chenin blanc style is very apparent Chenin blanc is a noble grape variety with its spiritual home being the Loire region of central France. Whilst in some part inspired by these wines, we have found our niche producing a very complex version, but with finesse, good structure and the influence of a lovely fresh acidity. The KWV The Mentors range is inspired by terroir and this wine was produced from a low yielding, very old bush vines that is ideally suited to the Swartland region.

Winter 2020 delivered good rainfall and cold that saw us returning to long term averages and the end of the drought that had tested all in the Western Cape for the last 5 years. Spring 2020 was defined by later bud break and particularly cool and wet conditions. Variable bud break was observed on a number of varieties. Flowering 2020 saw a continuation of this trend of cooler weather, intermittent rainfall and overcast conditions with lots of wind. The increased rainfall also brought significant disease pressure to most areas, in particular Downey Mildew. Summer has been a far cooler affair that we have been used to with particularly cool nights. This is per se a very good indicator of a quality vintage. We received only one or two warm days that were immediately followed by a cool spell all the way into late January.

This wine is a blend of two components. Both were fermented in barrel with 50% being indigenous yeast strain to enhance the texture and
mouth-feel of the wine. The remainder of 50% was inoculated with a specially selected commercial yeast strain to ensure optimal cultivar-derived fruit flavours. The wine was left on extended lees contact for 270 days after fermentation and stirred regularly during this period. The complete wine volume was matured for nine months, in 500L first, second and third-fill barrels.