Blackwater Underdog Chenin Blanc 2015

Wine of Origin: Stellenbosch

Cellarmaster: Francois Haasbroek

Background:  Francois Haasbroek is no stranger when it comes to producing good wines! Having spent many successful years as Cellarmaster at the stylish Waterford Estate outside Stellenbosch where he produced a range of premium wines he made the bold decision to concentrate on his own brand Blackwater Wine.

Over the years Francois has discovered many superb pockets of outstanding vineyards within the Western Cape, but found that the grapes from them were becoming “lost” as they were being used for large commercial batches of wines. So Francois, determined to have these grapes for his own wines, approached these farm owners and negotiated a fair exchange for them. The pickings from these vineyards often results in small parcels of grapes some of which come in at only 500kg. Due to the realities of making wine on such a small scale, everything at Blackwater Wine is done by done by hand – and that includes the label! The label is printed on cotton rich paper using a 1964 German letterpress, and each label is given a unique indentation, which complements the exclusive nature of Blackwater wines.

Blackwater Wine started its life in 2010 and his range of wines consists of 2 whites and 4 reds. Last weekend at the Celebration of Chenin Blanc and Pinotage Festival Francois offered his 2015 Underdog Chenin Blanc for tasting. This 100% Chenin Blanc is harvested from selected old bushvine vineyards on the top slopes of Bottelary Hills. Fermentation was done in concrete tanks, after which the wine was aged on the fine lees for 6 months prior to bottling.

Result: Classy, fresh Chenin with layers of crisp summer fruits of melon and apple leads to a long bracing finish.

When to drink: now till 2019

Drink with what: Salad with avocado, rocket, tomato, blue cheese fresh pear, walnuts and olive oil

Expect to pay: R103.00