Grenache Blanc, Olifantsberg 2022
Tim Atkin MW 94; James Suckling 92
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Why this wine
Grenache Blanc is rare in South Africa, and rarer still handled this way — whole-bunch pressed, fermented with wild yeast in seasoned barrels and foudres, ten months on fine lees. The mountain site holds an acidity the warm Breede valley floor cannot. Textured white wine for anyone who has exhausted Chardonnay.
At a glance
- Grape
- Grenache Blanc
- Region
- Breedekloof, South Africa
- Alcohol
- 14.00%
- Body
- Full
- Acidity
- Medium
- Sweetness
- Dry
- Drink
- Medium (5-10 yrs)
- Pairs with
- Poultry & Pork, Seafood, Cheese
How it tastes
Lime blossom and white peach with quince, green herbs and a note of anise underneath. Dry and full-bodied, textured from barrel and lees but held taut, and finishing on a mouthwatering salinity. Grenache Blanc 100%.
The producer
Olifantsberg works the slopes of the Olifantsberg range in Breedekloof, between 250 and 450 metres on shale and slate soils, with sustainable farming and limited intervention in vineyard and cellar under Integrated Production of Wine certification. Large day-to-night temperature swings, snow on the peaks through winter and constant summer winds slow the ripening and keep the fruit fresh; the vines are trained sur echalas, as bush vines on a single wooden stake, to concentrate fruit on these low-potential mountain soils. Winemaker Elizma Visser, named Young Winemaker of the Year in Tim Atkin's 2021 South Africa Report, pressed the bunches whole for a gentle extraction, fermented the juice naturally in seasoned French oak barrels and large foudres, and aged it for ten months on its fine lees.
Food and drinking
Serve at 10-12°C, not fridge-cold, or the texture is lost. It suits roast chicken, grilled langoustines, slow-roast pork belly, or a hard nutty cheese such as Comté. Drinking well now and over five to ten years. Sealed with a technical cork. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.