Ahhh, new experiences. Sometimes when we take part in a new experience we are glad we did and at other times when we have a new experience we end up promising to never repeat it again. Alright so you guys know that I am always honest when it comes to my reviews and I don't pull any punches. Here is about to be another example of that honesty. Today I am in for a new experience and that experience is I am going to taste as well as review a Chenin Blanc varietal wine. Hold on a minute there Desert Wine Guy, did you just imply that you have never tasted a Chenin Blanc prior to this review? Yes folks, I certainly did imply (say) that. Hopefully in the end this will be a new experience that I am glad I had. Today I and
possibly even you will do some learning and along the way perhaps maybe even educate
ourselves a little bit about the varietal.
I would now like to talk about the Chenin Blanc varietal itself for a minute. Let's begin by learning about some of the characteristics of the
Chenin Blanc grape in general. The very first thing that we need to know about the grape is that it is considered to be the most versatile grape in the world. This grape produces a typically
tropical & fruity wine with notes of different types of Apple,
Honeydew Melon, Jasmine and can present a note of Butter as well as
well. Originally from the country of France (the Loire Valley), today
over 50% of the Vineyards growing this grape are located in Africa where
it is at times blended with varietals of Semillon & Viognier as
well as a varietal known as Marsanne. The grape is the most widely planted grape variety in the country where the wine is sometimes known as Pinot Blanco. The wine is
usually on the drier side although there are sweet & sparkling
(Champagne anyone) expressions of the grape. The Chenin Blanc grape also
has a high level of Acidity normally. The grape itself is early budding
and enjoys a late to mid-late in the season Harvest. Warmth is needed
to achieve full ripeness and the vine is very susceptible to Botrytis
and Powdery Mildew. Alright then, now that we have a bit of information
on the wine varietal and the grape itself, let's move onto this specific
wine.
Okay so today I am reviewing the 2016 M.A.N Family Wines - Chenin Blanc from South Africa the Agter-Paarl region to be more precise. Let's go ahead and talk about this wine now. I bought the wine for $6.99 (regularly $12.99) while doing a little
impulse shopping at World Market (I love that place) here in Las Vegas
the other day. I spotted a clearance rack of wines and on the rack
there were two wines who's varietals I recognized, this wine and a
Sauvignon Blanc. The other varietals I have never heard of before and I
guess I wasn't feeling to adventures. I got a bottle of this wine as
well as the Sauvignon Blanc and here I am today. This wine is Screw Cap
sealed and comes in at 12.5% on the Alcohol scale.
Let's look at the label of this new experience wine and see how it comes across. As I have said before in some past reviews, a white wine can get away with things that a red wine never could. Observing this wines label I just very simply get a feeling of classiness. Once again Fonts and placement of words is a big deal. In this case both are exhibiting a worthiness and an example of what the varietal should be. Now keep in mind that I did say "exhibiting" as at this particular point I have not tasted this wine. The goal of a wine label is to twofold, get my attention and attempt to convince me that the wine is in need to being chosen. This label accomplishes both very well and I would have chose in outright on a normal selection.
As I move on let me get onto the wines appearance in my glass. A beautiful and vibrant extended Gold rim is so very apparent. Did I say vibrant? Yeah wine lovers, the wine looks very nice as my glass is tilted over a white paper. I am craving a glass of this wine as I am certainly impressed at least by it's appearance. In the glass now as the wine sits on the table I am seeing a white wine that just reminds me of what you would see on The Housewives of......". If I didn't know better I would think this wine cost real money. As for any legs, the wine showed few legs but the ones it did show were fairly thick and dripped down the glass rather slowly.
As for he Bouquet now. I am getting a bit of toasted spice on the nose along with a slightly buttery note as well. There is also a note of ripe Peach that is presented with a serious depth rather then a lightness. A Kiwi note is screaming here and I am hoping so hard that these notes carry right on over onto the Palate. Let me go ahead and add a note of Melon here that is just on point with the kiwi and I can't forget to tell you about a note of Honeysuckle which is very prominent. Overall this wine is just screaming tropicalness on the nose, wow!
So now we get to deal with the Palate of this wine, and of course as you can expect, I cheated as I have already tasted the wine. Have no fear though because as normal I will (try) not to give it all away just yet as there is a review for me to type and of course, for you to read :). Opening up on the Palate the wine is exposing a nice note of tropical acidity followed by a fairly decent bit of that Honeysuckle I picked up on the nose. I know that we are early into this review but ......I love this wine. I think you have to realize that once the wine is tasted you really know right away how you feel about it as you already have all you need to judge it. A review of a wine takes longer for the writer because a thorough review means explaining to you the reader just how or what the wine is presenting and whether in that reviewers opinion the wine is either good or bad. Okay so the next note up is one of Pear makes it's presence known on the Palate for sure and also brings with it a slight bit of sugar. Now mind you, all the notes bring with them some level of sugar but this is not a sweet white wine by any stretch of the imagination. As I said, there is fruit sugar notes here but along with them comes the actual taste of the fruits themselves so the sugar is not just thrown in here to effect a change in a cheap wine or to make you think with a masking of sorts that the wine is better then it really is. Let me now go ahead and let you know that there is a buttery note but it is most definitely NOT anywhere near or even approaching the point where it could even possibly effect the wine negatively. Yes, there is an acidity to this wine but it is a note that is indeed needed in order to act as a "cut" of sorts to what would have been a wine slightly edging toward a slightly sweeter wine but because of this note overall the wine is not what I would consider to be a sweet one. This Acidity is not overwhelming although although it is not shy in the least bit either. A crispness is evident here as well and it can partially thank that Acidity. I do want to talk about a note of Grapefruit which is apparent towards the Finish of the Palate. This particular note is not incredibly tart but it is present enough to be effective on the Palate for sure. A note of a soft Lychee makes itself known here as well. I want to tell you about the fruit of Apricot which brings a bit of a sort of tang to the wine. This is a semi-ripe Apricot and one which would truly be joyed as a fruit you picked up as a snack in general. Nectaurine, I am talking about a semi-ripe Nectaurine and not one that is loaded with sugar or sweetness.
I am talking about a Nectaurine which certainly helps carry this wine into the zone it loves to live in and that zone is one of quality and a Winemaker who knew his business. How about a note of Green Apple? This Green Apple helps the Grapefruit with that bit of tartness that I am tasting which comes across so fresh. If you are thinking that I am done here you are wrong because along with the Acidity and crispness is a White Pepper note as well. When combined and controlled as they are here these notes present themselves just......wonderfully is all I can say to you. I guess you could say that the note of acidity here is buffered by a comfortable level of semi ripe to ripe fruit which also is used to soften any otherwise harsh impact. There is the Stone Fruit note of semi-ripe Peach that appears at Mid-Palate and sustains itself in a mostly non-sugary way. The next note also was presented on the nose and that is a note of melon. Adding just a touch more of sugar and tropicalness this melon is fresh and vibrant. Alright then, it looks as if this is another review of a wine that I can say more then passed muster. Let's go ahead now and get to my final thoughts on the wine.
This wine is certainly presenting an awful lot of semi-ripe to ripe fruit notes if you ask me. This wine is not overly loaded with sugar yet it certainly is loaded with vibrant fruity notes. As a reminder this wine cost me $6.99 Chenin Blanc lovers. Does the wine present itself as a $7 wine? Ahhhh no, it definitely does not. This wine makes it a pleasure to have tried the Chenin Blanc varietal and I can promise you that this will not be the last time this varietal is reviewed by me. In closing, if you want a buttery or oily white wine you are looking in the wrong place without a doubt, go find an overly oaked Chardonnay. While there is an ever so slight buttery note here, there is no oily note oily note at all. This is a perfect and I do mean PERFECT wine for the Summer and especially the pool. Even if you paid $10 for the wine which is the average price, I highly recommend this wine for being refreshing, flavorful and an excellent representation of the varietal known as Chenin Blanc. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am giving this wine 93 points as I thoroughly loved it.
The Desert Wine Guy
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