KUMALA | Reserve | Chenin Blanc | 2021
chenin blanc

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Today we are going to review a single varietal chenin blanc wine from Swartland, Western Cape, South Africa – Reserve Chenin Blanc 2021 by Kumala. Chenin Blanc has been grown around the town of Angers in the Loire Valley for centuries (known there as Pineau). The wine it usually produces is high in natural acidity, which can be quite useful in a warm climate, but if produced when the grapes haven’t ripened sufficiently to coax the unique flavours of flowers, damp straw and honey, the wines would end up flat, with little but acid and sulphur in the bottle. Thanks to global warming, disastrous vintages are becoming a rarity even in the Loire Valley, and winemakers are using less and less sulphur to stabilize these often off-dry to medium-sweet wines. Today though, more chenin blanc is planted in California and South Africa than in France, but all too little of it is made with serious intent. Due to increased demand on chardonnay wines in California, chenin blanc is generally reviled as a rather bland, off-dry wine, suitable only for the bottom end of the wine market. The South African wine industry, on the other hand, is extremely dependent on chenin blanc, which represents about one vine in five. Of course it might lack the glamour of chardonnay and sauvignon blanc for example, but some producers have managed to create some very serious wines out of some of the older, dry-farmed bushes of chenin blanc vines. That said and without further ado, let’s move on straight to our tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
color: pale, straw-yellow color
clarity: clear pastel-yellow hues

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful & expressive
fruit profile: green fruits | citrus fruits | tropical fruits
__green fruits: gooseberry | kiwi
__citrus fruits: lime | lemon | green grapefruit | bergamot
__tropical fruits: passion fruit | dragon fruit
fruit character: ripe & overripe

//Flavor
non fruit: floral | herbal
__floral: acacia blossom | jasmine
__herbal: sencha | osmanthus tea | clover | currant leaf
primary layer: fruity–herbal

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: medium+
tannin: none
__grip: fine
balance: good
__dominant: acidity
body: lean | light body

//Taste
fruit profile: green fruits & citrus
fruit character: ripe
non fruit: herbal
finish: medium
aftertaste: crisp

//Scoring
KUMALA | Reserve | Chenin Blanc | 2021
variety: chenin blanc
country: South Africa
region: Western Cape | Swartland
rating: 92.4

//Conclusion
maturity: in its prime | drink now
verdict: fine | highly recommended
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This is definitely a fine wine of South Africa and with a total of 92.4 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is a refreshingly crisp and light chenin blanc wine, with a very lean and supple palate. The wine is in its prime form, therefore we would recommend to drink it today rather than tomorrow, as it is clearly not meant for long term bottle ageing. On the nose the wine brings a mixture of ripe and overripe citrus and tropical fruits in the foreground, followed by a pleasantly herbaceous background. On the palate the wine delivers exuberant acidity and a touch of alcoholic warmth that is showing through on the mouthfeel. All in all, this is a new world chenin blanc wine that feels very expressive and stammeringly fresh and our recommendation would be to pair it with any citrus salads or some lemon dorado. Cheers!

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