2023 - Mev Kirsten, The Sadie Family, Stellenbosch

Chenin Blanc vines for this wine were planted in 1905, so the winery believes, although the records are not totally clear. The site has decomposed granite over alluvial soils and quartz. These conditions add to the textural volume of The Sadie Family's 2023 Stellenbosch Old Vine Series Mev. Kirsten and its beautiful sense of phenolic richness. The bouquet is crisp and bright with crunchy fruit, pithy apple, pear and tart pomelo fruit that adds lasting freshness. The mouthfeel proceeds with silky viscosity and complexity that can only be achieved with old-vine fruit. However, the wine also manages impressive vertical lift and tension. Like the other white wines in this series, aging takes place for 12 months in old foudre. Given the growing conditions at a moderate 185 meters above sea level, the Mev. Kirsten carries the most fruit weight in this series of Chenin Blancs (or Steen) from different denominations.

The 2023 Mev. Kirsten is perhaps the most closed of the three Chenins, unfolding with time to reveal scents of yellow fruit, oyster shell and a touch of lanolin. The palate has superb weight and density—the most fruit-driven Chenin, with an irresistible, slightly viscous texture counterbalanced by a keen thread of acidity. It’s even a little petrolly on the finish. Fabulous from beginning to end.