Private Cellar Chenin Blanc 2020

Rijk's Estate is located in the Tulbagh wine region of South Africa. Founded in 1996 by Neville Dorrington, a wine enthusiast who sought to produce world-class wines in South Africa, renowned for its premium wines including Chenin Blanc and Pinotage. The estate is also known for its commitment to sustainability and environmentally friendly winemaking practices. The estate uses organic farming methods and constantly seeks to minimize its ecological impact.

This cuvée is composed of 100% Chenin Blanc from vines planted on soils composed of schist, sandstone and clay which contributes to the complexity and richness of the wines produced on the estate. The grapes were harvested at night and hand-picked to preserve the flavors, then were delicately crushed and pressed. 30% of the wine was cold fermented in stainless steel vats to preserve the freshness and fruit and 70% was fermented in 300-liter French oak barrels. The wine was then aged for 11 months, blended and bottled. This wine reveals notes of yellow nectarine , peach , white flowers , ripe apple , quince , candied lemon , toast and wet stones . The palate is round, textured and well-balanced with a finish on ripe fruit.

The first vines were planted in South Africa by Dutch settlers in the 1650s, although wine production did not really begin to take off until the arrival of French Protestants, in the 1680s, with their skills and their knowledge of viticulture. Stellenbosch is also a historic wine region, with the first vineyards being planted there in the 1690s. Today South Africa is one of the most important wine producing countries in the southern hemisphere. With over 300 years of winemaking history, it is often described as a bridge between the Old and New Worlds. The majority of wines are produced using New World winemaking techniques, but they often have more in common stylistically with their Old World counterparts. Since the end of apartheid, South African wine has received international attention and acclaim for its wide variety of styles. South Africa's wine industry is spread across the lush and rugged landscape of the Western Cape. Here, the abundance of mountains, valleys and plateaus allows winemakers to produce a wide variety of styles. Vineyards can also be found in the Orange River region of the Northern Cape, where the flat, arid landscape is dominated by the Kalahari Desert. Most of South Africa's wine regions have a Mediterranean climate, strongly influenced by the meeting of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The country's signature grape variety is Pinotage, an indigenous cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut that is rarely found in quantity in other wine-producing countries. Shiraz (Syrah) is also widely planted, as are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (often combined in a Bordeaux blend). South African Chardonnay, Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc have become popular internationally in recent years.