Paulus Bartas Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc 2023
£30.25
The wine
Lifted green apple, lemongrass and wet stone. Poised, with refreshing acidity.
From a block on a small hill at Rustenhof Farm in Stellenbosch, and made alongside the Swartland bottling so the two grounds can be compared directly. Chenin Blanc is South Africa most planted white and was long used for brandy and bulk wine, with old bush vines grubbed up as recently as the 1990s. The survivors are the country most valuable asset.
The producer
Paulus Wine Co.
View all Paulus Wine Co. winesPaulus Wine Co. is a boutique South African producer devoted to Chenin Blanc, the Cape signature grape. Working with old, low-yielding vines, the project seeks purity, minerality and a true reflection of site in every bottle.
Fruit is drawn from distinctive terroirs across the Swartland and Stellenbosch, from ancient bush vines on granite and shale. Farming is careful and sustainable, with gentle, low-intervention winemaking that preserves detail and freshness.
The Bosberaad and Bartas cuvees show two faces of Cape Chenin, one broad, textural and mineral, the other saline, focused and elegant. Both reward the table and the cellar.
Refined, characterful and quietly ambitious, Paulus captures the depth and drive that make South African Chenin one of the wine world great value propositions.
