Vinum Chenin Blanc 2007

Wooden nose with not a lot of fruit opens up for a pretty bouncy wine. Has a touch of sweetness, with mostly peaches and apples and a very creamy and buttery finish.

Sesame and curry in the nose, with an underlying smokiness. The mouth is mildly acidic and sweet, and the oak flavors carry it pretty well. Not crazy about the aftertaste, but its interesting.

nose complete with oak, vanilla, touches of pear and golden apples, a little woodsy, like burnt popcorn. the palate is also filled with buttered popcorn, apple, oaky characteristics...completely different than the chenin blanc I just had previously, but enjoyable in its own right

California Chardonnay doppelganger, but with a little more grass and steel on the finish. The nose is musty with bruised fruit. The flavor is mealy and broad with banana and soft red apple. The finish is complex but a little chemical. Interesting wine.

I would say around 30-40% oaked, this is a relatively rare example of a good oaked Chenin Blanc, in the style of the Vergelegen, Graham Beck and Sterhuis steens. There definitely is more than a hint of the toasty Chardonnay about this but the fruit is more energetic, more tropical, and the oak is actually very nicely integrated for a relatively young wine. The fresh zesty nature of the Chenin means it's still relatively easy drinking but the oak adds a nice buttery rounded mouth to the wine. Good with seafood.