Chenin Blanc

The more tightly wound of our two Damascene Chenins, the 2024 Stellenbosch bottling brims with texture and tension.

The nose is mineral‑edged, carrying gravel and chalk with flickers of lemon peel and gentle herbal flourishes. The palate is pithy and taut, with white peach and white grapefruit coiled around a waxy, textural core. Time in the glass reveals soft herbal puffs and a brush of wild grasses, while the finish lingers with citrus zest and a quiet echo of stony minerality. A wine of restraint and gradually unfolding detail, it rewards time both in the cellar and in the glass.

The 2024 growing season followed a cold, wet post‑harvest and winter, with rainfall replenishing groundwater and ensuring strong dormancy. Budding was even and healthy, though September’s temperature dip and heavy rains with strong winds briefly slowed growth.

From late spring onward, conditions turned dry and hot, with daytime peaks above 35 °C in November, January, and February. These sustained warm, dry conditions advanced the harvest by roughly two weeks, producing small, concentrated Chenin berries with natural concentration and freshness. Fruit was harvested between 31 January and 6 February 2024.

Damascene Stellenbosch Old Vine Chenin Blanc is a blend of fruit from three sites in the Bottelary ward: Sonop, Houmoed, and Mooiplaas. All three sites are situated on hilltops at 325–340 m ASL. On the southern end, the Mooiplaas vineyard was planted in 1981 into granitic soils. In contrast, the Houmoed vineyard was planted into greywacke soils in 1972, making it 52 years old at the time of the 2024 harvest. Finally, the Sonop vineyard to the north was planted into shale soils in 1982, making it 42 years old at the time of the 2024 harvest.

Hand‑harvested between 31 January and 6 February 2024, the grapes were chilled overnight to 8 °C. Whole clusters were hand‑sorted and pressed on a delicate champagne cycle, then settled overnight. Fermentation took place in 1,000L Austrian oak foudres.

All lees that remained in suspension were retained to maintain natural turbidity. No sulphur or enzymes were added during the winemaking process. Most batches saw sulphur for the first time just before bottling in December 2024. Malolactic conversion was blocked to preserve the wine’s vivid natural acidity, and no bâtonnage was performed. The wine matured sur lie for 11 months in 1,000L Austrian oak foudres at 6‑8 °C.

The wine will show at its most expressive within three to five years of vintage, but with careful cellaring it will evolve for over a decade, developing layered tertiary notes that reveal the pedigree of old‑vine Chenin Blanc.

Total production: 2171 x 750ml and 75 x 1500ml

Bottling date: 05 December 2024

Alc: 12.7 % Vol

pH: 3.15

TA: 6.3 g/L

RS: 1.9 g/L