Chenin Blanc is a classic of the Loire valley in France, and in the New World, it is normally associated with South Africa. We love Chenin Blanc at Astrolabe. We love the apple and honeysuckle flavours, the freshness and the way the wine keeps on getting better in the bottle year after year. Chenin blanc is a grape variety that suits a wide range of styles and levels of residual sugar: from bone dry all the way to dessert wines. Chenin blanc wines can be aged in oak or left unoaked, and the grape is also capable of producing excellent sparkling wines.

The Astrolabe Wrekin Vineyard Sec Chenin Blanc is grown on the sunny clay slopes of the Southern Valleys of Marlborough, at the organic Wrekin Vineyard. The chenin block has interrow plantings of flowering buckwheat, which encourages biodiversity, attracting beneficial insects that work to keep the vines free from harmful pests.

I’ve made this wine dry but with a hint of residual sugar to balance the zippiness from the natural acidity of the fruit. I have preserved the charming fruit flavour by fermenting in neutral stainless vessels. The wine has more retained spritziness from the fermentation, which adds to the vivacity in the glass. It is a great drinking style, ready to go for spring and summer!

Simon Waghorn — Winemaker