“It's magnificent, as it always is. But comforting, too. It's a wine I want to curl up with.” - Tamlyn Currin, 17.5 points

Winemaker, Alex Milner, who cycles around The Cape looking for forgotten vineyards, has raised the bar once again with this outstanding 2023 vintage release of his (certified) Old Vine Chenin Blanc ‘Axle’ from the adorably-named region of Darling. It’s a labour of love from Alex and, as such, it seems to improve year-in, year-out, and this feels like the most complete vintage yet. Beautiful golden aromas of honeydew melon and nectarine and that lovely summery scent of honeysuckle on a warm breeze. It’s sweetly succulent as it introduces itself to the palate, but the acidity immediately brings a whiplash of excitement and keeps the wine perky and dry and full of energy, showing mango, white peach and lemon. There’s a comforting silky texture that holds the wine together, being neither too viscous nor too thin, and helps spread the flavours evenly across the palate. Chris Alheit’s ‘Flotsam and Jetsam’ used to be the best value ‘premium’ Chenin Blanc from The Cape, but that came to an end when Chris realised that he was seriously undervaluing the fruit and diverted it all into his more expensive ‘Cartology’, so this Chenin Blanc now wears the crown! 13% alc. Sourced from certified heritage vineyards. Basket-pressed into barrel for 9 months. Drink now-2028.

NB The bottle has a soft wax seal. Simply insert your corkscrew through the wax and extract the cork as normal and the wax will come away with the cork. If you feel the need to start a Twitter feud about the merits of wax seals, please pour yourself a glass of this first, take a moment, and then see how you feel.


Press reviews:

JancisRobinson.com: “Remarkably deep gold for such a young wine. Full-bodied, toasty richness. Coddled-cream contours carved into curving swathes of flavour by dense, stony minerality. The fruit is baked-pear sweet, baked-banana creamy, laced with vanilla pod and frangipani and honeysuckle. Long peppery finish. It's magnificent, as it always is. But comforting, too. It's a wine I want to curl up with. (TC). Drink now-2030.” 17.5 points

Tim Atkin MW: ""Early picked stuff in 2023 turned out pretty good," says Alex Milner. This wild yeast fermented Chenin Blanc, sourced from a Darling vineyard planted in 1985, is a case in point, all fennel, dried honey and baking spices, fresh acidity and the salty grip of weathered granite soils. Drink now-2029.” 93 points

Winemaker, Alex Milner, writes: “My wife loves the more textured styles of Chenin blanc, so I thought it would be fun if I could make her one. We were wanting to make a style that was low in alcohol, allow us to work completely naturally, but yet have a balance of acid that would have you coming back for more. We spent the most part of the winter of 2017 tasting and visiting various vineyards, to find the one that fitted our desired profile. Welcome to our Darling vineyard, which from the onset, we knew we had something interesting.”

Winemaking

“To achieve our desired goals, extreme care is taken to pick these grapes at the optimal ripeness, this happens in late January. Harvested by hand and then further sorted in the cellar, to ensure only the best fruit is used. Grapes are whole bunch pressed in our basket press, this juice is cooled and allowed to settle. The skins from the press are then put into a tank and left overnight to be lightly pressed again the following day. This is our skin contact component and adds a perfect depth to the final wine. The clean juice is then racked to seasoned barrels, some fine lees is added. Fermentation begins slowly after 2-3 days. malolactic fermentation also occurs naturally. Post fermentation baronage occurs fort-nightly for 2 months. Wines are left sur lie for 10 months in their barrels, after which it is racked and bottled. Made with minimal interference and pretence - preserving the intrinsic link between bottle and grape.”

Old dry-farmed bush vines on decomposed granite. Basket pressed and left undisturbed in a barrel for nine months.

Customer Comments:

”The Axle Chenin Blanc rather restored my faith in South African Chenin” - Mr S.C.

”Love the Axle Chenin!” - Mr. J.M.

“It’s excellent stuff.” My D.O.

”Tried the Chenin last night - it’s great!” - Mr. F. L.

”Wine received. Two have already disappeared! It's great!” - Mr. M. D.

“Do you have anymore of the Axle Chenin? Just opened a bottle, wow, I'd like to buy some more...” - Mr D.L.

”This is awesome. Really lovely SA Chenin.” - Mr. V. S.

“Just purchased 2 more cases of the Axle.. I’ve decided it going to be Xmas presents for everyone this year.. it’s very good!.” - Mr J.L.