Description
The 2020 Naudé Old Vines Chenin Blanc is a remarkable expression of Agter-Paardeberg’s unique terroir, and marks a new chapter for Ian Naudé as his first single-vineyard Chenin. This wine shows impressive complexity, with aromatics of crystallised pineapple, bruised yellow orchard fruit, tangerine peel, white peach, and wet thatch, along with a sweet-sour note of passion fruit liquor. The palate is vibrant, with a fine depth of fruit concentration, offering exotic flavors of lemon cordial, syrupy pineapples, tart white peaches, and pithy green apple candy. There’s an energy and freshness to the wine, balanced by a nervy minerality and crystalline purity that defines Naudé’s style. It’s a wine with beautiful acidity, a granitic texture, and the potential to age gracefully for decades. While already impressive, it will continue to develop and evolve through 2040 and beyond.
Reviews
Platter’s 94
[Platter’s, 01/01/2023]
JancisRobinson.com 17/20
[Jancis Robinson, 01/01/2023]
Greg Sherwood 95
Happily, this 2020 is already very impressive with wonderfully complex aromatics of crystallised pineapple chunks, bruised yellow orchard fruit, tangerine peal, white peach, wet thatch and sweet & sour notes of passion fruit liquor. The palate shows lovely vibrancy and energy all wrapped up tightly in a fine, harmonious glycerol depth of fruit concentration that seems slightly more exotic than previous vintages with seductive notes of lemon cordial, pineapples in syrup, tart white peaches and pithy green apple candy. Like all Ian s delightful creations, this wine retains an incredible crystalline purity, tangy fresh acids, nervy textural linearity and a granitic liquid minerality that washes over the palate to counter-balance the fruit intensity. GS [Greg Sherwood, 01/01/2023]
Producer Profile
Ian Naudé’s wines are unlike anything else.
His range of wines are made up of esoteric pockets of old and new vines that tell a story about South African heritage. He did so fearlessly, believing that South African wine, if made honestly, and without compromise can come to rival the finest wines in the world. And slowly the international wine cognoscenti have started believing it too, as demonstrated by their rave reviews year-on-year.
