Olifantsberg Grenache Blanc 2022
£18.95
The wine
A unique style of Grenache Blanc showing delicacy and finesse. Subtle aromas of lime blossom combine with green herbal notes, white peach and quince, through to a beautifully balanced and richly textured palate with a saline hint on the finish.
Grenache Blanc is a Rhône variety and a rarity in South Africa, giving a fuller, lower-acid white than Chenin with a distinctly herbal, faintly nutty character. It suits the Breedekloof's warmth, and the estate's altitude supplies the freshness the grape does not naturally bring on its own.
The producer
Olifantsberg
View all Olifantsberg winesOlifantsberg lies on the slopes of the Elephant Mountain in the Breedekloof, an inland valley in the Western Cape that has long supplied fruit to others and only recently begun making its name in its own right.
The estate's holdings climb the mountainside on decomposed shale and sandstone, and altitude is what makes the site work: the Breedekloof floor is hot, but these vineyards sit high enough to catch cooler air and hold their acidity. Winemaker Elizma Visser has built the range around Rhone varieties and old-vine Chenin Blanc, which is an unusual combination and a well-judged one for this ground.
South Africa's old Chenin plantings are among its greatest assets, dry-farmed bush vines that crop very little and give real concentration, and the Cape has more Chenin than the Loire itself. The Soul of the Mountain wines are the flagship pair, named The Matriarch and The Bull, and they are made only in vintages that warrant them.
