Chenin blanc changes character with soil and climate, producing diverse wine profiles from dry to sweet while retaining good acidity. It is widely planted worldwide, with major plantings in South Africa and France. In South Africa, it spans affordable mass production through premium, terroir-focused wines. In France, most vines are in the Loire valley, where nearby appellations can yield very different results due to distinct soils. Savennieres is linked to bone-dry, mineral, grapefruit-like wines. Vouvray is linked to richer, pear-like notes and wines that vary widely in sweetness.
"Chenin blanc shape-shifts with soil and climate perhaps more than any other grape, and it is this chameleon quality that sets wine enthusiasts aflutter, as does the fact that it's a late-ripening variety with good acidity, so lends itself to a whole spectrum of profiles, from dry to sweet. Versatile, aesthetically ambiguous and, as my friend's hat testifies, cultish in its appeal, it is the Tilda Swinton of grapes."
"With up to 35,000 hectares of the stuff planted worldwide, it is a global grape, too. But, unlike the leading players such as chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, chenin is associated with very defined areas. In South Africa, which grows more than half the world's crop, it runs the gamut from mass-produced and affordable to premium and terroir-driven. France, meanwhile, has about a third of the world's chenin vines, over 90% of them in the Loire valley."
"Take the Loire, where the appellations of Vouvray and Savennieres sit just 80 miles apart, but produce chenins that are chalk and cheese (or, rather, chalk and schist the rocks that characterise their respective soil types and, in turn, the flavours of the wines they produce). Savennieres is associated with bone-dry, mineral and grapefruit-y wines, and Vouvray more for its richer, pear-ish notes and for wines that vary dramatically in sweetness."
Read at www.theguardian.com
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