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Chenin Blanc Symposium (SYDNEY)

Notes from Mike Bennie

Original Notes accessed here on THE WINE FRONT


All wines from the 2018 vintage.


Nic Peterkin is at the helm of this monumental and significant, noteworthy project. He has run it across five or so iterations, originally in a local hall in Margaret River with an audience of mostly local winemakers. He touted it as ‘the first ever Chenin Blanc Symposium with Sausage Sizzle’, and winemakers and some trade of all ilks attended. Making such claims didn’t go unnoticed by some canny South African producers, who sent Nic a serious email citing their prior, first ever Chenin Blanc Symposium, to which Nic replied, ‘yes, but did yours have a sausage sizzle?’. That may have broke the ice, as the event now has notable wines sent from South Africa to participate in the tasting, and Nic has returned the favour in person attending in South Africa!


A takeaway message from this tasting,  and small point of discussion revolved around the importance of older vine material being a distinct factor in higher quality chenin blanc, with concentration and complexity a by-product, for the most part. Most of these wines in this line up are dry grown and organic farmed too – Nic also relayed that chenin loves taking water and growing massive volume from this, often diminishing quality and perhaps reputation therefore. I’d also say that the ability for the variety to hold acid is quite something; the six year old wines looking incredibly fresh and bright by and large, way more than many other white variety tastings of a similar ilk.


Bracket 1:

Faber Vineyards (Swan Valley, WA) – Committed to chenin, delivering the goods. Go Swan! Crisp, crackling, zesty expression. Strong lemon-lime, fine mineral water characters, good sense of tension and stretch of flavour, powdery chalky too. Vibrant, fine boned, thirst-quenching and compact. Feels sophisticated. 93 points, 2024-2030+

Tripe.Iscariot Wilyabrup Absolution (Margaret River, WA) – From a dedicated chenin fetishist, and a South African in Australia, which combines powers considering the variety status in both places. Quite a leafy, herbal number, a bit of lemon-ginger tea with bergamot, bay leaf, sea spray going on. Succulent in the palate, tightly wound and drives long and to a piercing, mouth-watering finish. Bone dry. If not dryer. A fine expression here. 93 points, 2024-2029

John Kosovich (Swan Valley, WA) – These wines from this family are often a surprise package to some, but not to those that know. Wink wink. This is juicy, very vibrant, lemon balm, lemon tea, some whey and natural yoghurt characters, limey through the finish, a tickle of brine and salted crackers – an authority yet calm. It’s a dry, refreshing style, very accessible, refreshing, palate-cleansing, with a strong sense of future potential. Simplicity but all the quiet detail. Classic and cool. 94+ points, 2024-2035+

Thibaud Boudignon Anjou Blanc (Loire Valley, France) – An organic vineyard of near 40 years old. Matured in wood. A very tight, tense and citrus-driven expression with gentle saline elements, touches of rice cracker and green almond savouriness, faint Parmesan notes, dryness a motif and a minerally, wet-slate like finish with a tickle of sea water coming through. Pristine, classy, classic. 93 points, 2024-2032

Dormilona (Margaret River, WA) – Distinct wines from Dormilona. Personality plus. Erring on the more creative side of chenin, maybe the abstract expressionist, noted for its nutty savouriness, almost Jura-esque saline elements, elevated freshness, bite of green apple, lemon-lime, tonic water characters. A relaxed textural feel, supple then a little grip. This pleases. It’s bloody delicious. 93 points, 2024-2030


Bracket 2:

Pierro Nunc Tempus Est (Margaret River, WA) – Planted in the 1980s. Spends five months on lees. Incredibly pale colour then dense flavours and a weighty textural feel. Lemon curd, lime essence, green apple, light briny notes, some honey and toast notes creeping in pleasingly woven into the elevated, fruitier characters on hand. Complex, a white wine of great presence. 93 points, 2024-2030

Milton Vineyards (Gisborne, NZ) – Flavourtown, starring chenin. Feels not quite dry either, with honeyed slick on lemon drops, red apple, quince and ginger, lemongrass and faint toasty and arrowroot biscuit descriptors here too. Supple texture, medium weight, energetic despite its width and a distinct, charismatic and vivid expression overall. A delight, and a little out of the box. 94 points, 2024-2030+

Kaapzitcht 1947 (Stellenbosch, RSA) – It maybe rude to comment on people’s names, but there is a kind of onomatopoeia here, and lovely it is – if not a sound made in a Batman comic when applying fist to face, or similar. Maybe opening a pet nat? I like it, regardless. Anyway, a fourth generation family of vignerons, serious about chenin. From the second oldest block of chenin in South Africa.

A complex, serious chenin with slick texture, sweet spices, a touch of coconut and ginger biscuit on concentrated lemon essence, green apple, vanilla and nougat. Oak maturation plays a hand and lends layers to the wine, no doubt. A wine of great power and presence, and evocative of premium, serious wine. Done well. 94 points, 2024-2032

Corymbia (Swan Valley, WA) – Light and fine, a touch washy and diffuse, refreshing and dry regardless, citrus, green apple, delicate herbal elements. A wine in good form, lithe and offering good character of the variety, but quite elementary all up. Easy drinking, in a good place. 90 points, 2024-2030

David & Nadia Sadie (Swartland, RSA) – Great producer here. Charismatic, bombastic expression. Lots of golden colour, honeyed nuts, ginger, salted cashew, ripe apple, dried apple, a touch of water cracker and some faint buttery notes. Rich, rollicking and open weave, lots of dimensions, a feast for the senses. Perhaps showing a bit of its age here. One to share around a group and admire over time. 93 points, 2024-2028


Bracket 3:

Chateau de Fesles la Chapelle Anjou Blanc (Loire Valley, France) – A portion of the wine matures in acacia barrels. A blend of tank and barrel maturation to make the whole. Rich, round, supple and medium to fuller weight here. Honey-lemon tea, sweet lime, some juniper elements, sour dough, a bit of sugared biscuit and faint buttery notes. A good click of limestone minerality finishes the wine. It feels very elegant, refined, serious. Stately chenin. 93 points, 2024-2032+

Marriwood Park (Margaret River, WA) – From thirty-year-old vines and biodynamic/organic certified. Some new French oak (30%), and time on lees. Succulent, dry, quite powerful if not skittish with acidity and dry extract elements. Chewy indeed. Lime/lemon, green apple, faint toast and sweet spices, a little vanilla cream and cashew. Good wine, if not a little firm and rigid in its current guise. Complex. 92+ points, 2024-2030+

Tripe.Iscariot Karridale Absolution (Margaret River, WA) – A golden colour. A wink and nod to age. Supple texture, some buttery elements, toasty spices, sweet spices, honey, sage leaf, pickled lime. Feels a little like the edges are fraying, some development pulling at the seams, but in a good place for drinking right now, with charisma. 90 points, 2024-2026

Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Blanc (Loire Valley, France) – Wild ferment, raised in tanks. High quality sites combine to make the wine. Succulent, lemon-drenched herbs and jasmine tea characters with suggestions of green apple and brine. Quite tightly wound, quite tense,  little sheath of talc-like pucker in the mix. Frisky, perhaps a little pale, but good here. 92 points, 2024-2030+

Ken Forrester The FMC (Stellenbosch, RSA) – A quite hands off approach to winemaking from Ken Forrester, but with consideration. Highly fragrant, very pretty, lemon blossom, lemon curd, ginger, green apple, wet fern, sea spray, touches of green almond and hazelnut. Supple texture, quite loose knit, a sense of honey, toasty elements, sweet nuts, lemon drops and dried apple. Sweeter expression but held well with faint savoury notes and a core of tart acidity. This has lots going on. 93 points, 2024-2029


Bracket 4:

Vino Volta Nothing Wrong With Old School Chenin (Swan Valley, WA) – There’s some serious knowledge about chenin underpinning this project. Floral perfume, touch of white balsamic lift, sea spray, lime, green apple. Very pure and pretty. Some oomph in the palate, let’s say concentration, apple, lime, touches of salted almond, faint nougat. It’s lovely. Slips over the palate daintily and with freshness. Delightful. 92 points, 2024-2029

DeMorgenzon Reserve (Stellenbosch, RSA) – From 1972 vines. From a site at 250-or-so metres above sea level. This is serious gear. The tension, the stretch of flavour, the saline and nutty-savoury undertow, the restraint, the deliciousness. It feels composed and compact in a way but doesn’t forget refreshment factor and vitality. It’s savouriness a siren song. The energy of citrus, green apple and faint stone fruit all charm. Great stuff. 94 points, 2024-2035+

Wines of Merrit (Margaret River, WA) – On the sea side of Caves Road, the right side of the tracks for chenin? Wild fermented, unfiltered. All the character. Big zesty whiffs of green apple, faint fino sherry, wet slate, ginger. The palate sets up similarly, quite grippy and dry, bony in a way, though there’s refreshment factor here and a good sense of varietal character, albeit through a more creative lens, perhaps. Good. 92 points, 2024-2028

L.A.S. Vino CBDB (Margaret River, WA) – This is the first year that Nic Peterkin switched to Yallingup and the organic vines of Marriwood Park. Picked over two weeks. Sits in granite-like vessels and older oak barrels. Crackles with energy, minerally charm, green apple, concentrated lemon juice, grapefruit, some faint herbal elements also found. Juicy in a way but also distinctly chalky and puckering. Savoury underneath. Clever, cool, great. 94 points, 2024-2032

Damien Laureau La Petite Roche Savennieres (Loire Valley, France) – Organic farmed, lo-fi approach to winemaking, albeit with experience. It shows off some more rollicking, sweet-savoury, biscuity, gingery notes with hazy texture, strong nuttiness, lemon on green apple, a touch of fino sherry. It’s quite luxurious in its spread of flavour, softness, yet distinct saline undertow and light chew to texture. Fantastic! Does so much! Out of the box, so well. 95 points, 2024-2032


Bracket 5: L.A.S. Vino CBDB (Margaret River, WA)

2013: Mostly Pierro fruit, and 7% viognier, 7% sauvignon blanc. Fun. Chewy, chunky, still brittle with acidity, tart lime, green apple, touches of ginger, some toasty elements, touches of dried stone fruit. A little thin through the finish, but with charm writ large. Neat drinking, still with plenty to go as it mellows into its honeyed era. 90 points, 2024-2027

2016: Again, mostly Pierro fruit. All barrel fermented. All chenin. Honey on green apple, lime, bits of ginger, green almond and warmed cashew characters. It’s got bright acidity, layers of compelling fruit character, very well composed. It feels curiously fresh and vibrant. Gentle sweetness rolls in. This has major charm. 92 points, 2024-2028

2018: Ibid.

2020: Let the good times roll. A refined and well-balanced wine, sweet citrus, sweet spices, a lick of caramel, toast, faint butter. It’s quite rich and round, generous and come hither in its style. Pleasing and easy to get stuck into. 92 points, 2024-2030

2023: A touch of skin contact (three days) goes into this wine. Quite a lot of texture and a sense of lushness, quince, cucumber, lime, red apple and a splash of pink grapefruit. Slippery and yet lightly chalky through the finish. It’s got good texture, extension of flavour, a sense of seriousness. 93 points, 2024-2030+


Thanks to L.A.S. Vino, Le Pont (Milson’s Point) and Franc About Wine.

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