Once every two to three months, I enjoy lunch with a couple of workmates from the 1980s. We all worked for Corbans Wines in Los Angeles in what must surely have been a pioneering export office. Few of our customers knew that New Zealand made wine. We tried to change that.
We take it in turn to host the lunch. The host also provides wine, although the guests often bring a special bottle.
At our latest lunch, I produced my last bottle of 1980 Dusi Ranch Vineyard Zinfandel that I had made and bottled in my Los Angeles garage. It was surprisingly good, although showing its age.
Our host produced a blind glass of wine for each of us. It was drop-dead delicious. I guessed it was a very good, youthful German riesling. It had wonderful acidity, making it the perfect aperitif.
I was wrong. The wine was a 2019 Mt Difficulty Long Gully Chenin Blanc, which our host had purchased at a recent wine auction. It was exquisite – a moderately sweet chenin blanc that was deliciously drinkable now but promised to age magnificently.
When the lunch was over, I phoned the winery in search of a few more bottles. Both the 2019 and 2020 Mt Difficulty Long Gully Chenin Blanc had sold out, but they had just released the 2021 vintage, which the very helpful winery staffer assured me was very like the 2019. I ordered a couple of bottles and planned to order more if it passed muster, which it did.
I discovered that the other lunch guest had also gone in search of the 2019 and managed to buy a case of the 2020.
Chenin blanc can be crafted to any level of sweetness. (Image: Getty)Chenin blanc is described by British critic and Master of Wine Jancis Robinson in the Oxford Companion to Wine as “the world’s most versatile grape variety”. It is used to make long-lived sweet wine and bone-dry wine, with many shades in between. A naturally high acidity makes it a good choice for sparkling wine, and it is even used as a base for fortified wines.Low-cropping chenin blanc can produce wines of outstanding quality and longevity, such as Vouvray from France’s Loire Valley. I have tasted several bottles of Marc Brédif Vouvray from my birth year that were in better shape than I am.
New Zealand has a modest 19 hectares of productive chenin blanc, a considerable drop on the 58 hectares of vines that were growing in 2005.
Chenin blanc is not destined to become the “next big thing” after sauvignon blanc and is likely to remain “NZ’s best kept wine secret”. I am happy with that, as long as I can buy my share of the best of the best of them.
Top eight NZ chenin blanc
1) 2021 Mt Difficulty Long Gully Chenin Blanc, Central Otago, $32
Deliciously dense chenin blanc with tantalising purity and flavours suggesting tree fruit/peach/nectarine and honey. The wine has a perfect balance of subtle sweetness and fruity acidity that generates an exquisite tension.
2) 2021 Margrain Cut Cane Chenin Blanc, Martinborough, $39
The canes are cut one month before harvest to dehydrate and concentrate the fruit. Luscious wine with honeycomb, quince, pineapple and mango flavours perfectly supported by ripe, fruity acidity. Restrained lusciousness.
3) 2019 Black Estate Home Chenin Blanc, North Canterbury, $45
Rich, intense chenin blanc with green apple, ginger, toasted nut, and a dash of honey (although the wine is bone-dry). Impressively textural wine that is good now, best with food, but should develop very well with bottle age.
4) 2018 Margrain Old Vine Chenin Blanc, Martinborough, $65
From 37-year-old vines planted by the pioneer of modern Martinborough viticulture, Stan Chifney. Dense, flavoursome wine with classic green apple, lime zest and oyster shell flavours supported by tangy acidity. A hot prospect for long-term cellaring.
5) 2021 Astrolabe Southern Valleys Sec Chenin Blanc, Marlborough, $28
Creamy-textured chenin blanc with spicy stewed-apple flavours. Just a hint of sweetness, although it is perfectly balanced by gentle acidity. Delicious wine that has the potential to age well. Silky and seamless.
6) 2020 Easthope Family Winegrowers Two Terraces Vineyard Chenin Blanc, Hawke’s Bay, $37
Wild-fermented and matured in an egg-shaped tank to enhance texture and aromatic complexity. Creamy-textured wine with green apple, ginger, roasted chestnut and a dab of bush honey. Complex chenin blanc with great cellaring potential.
7) 2020 Millton Clos de Ste Anne “Le Bas” Chenin Blanc, Gisborne, $90
Serious chenin blanc with concentrated red apple, honeycomb, oyster shell, citrus/grapefruit, lanolin and root ginger flavours threaded on a fine line of chunky acidity. Can be appreciated now but shows obvious cellaring potential.
8) 2020 Amisfield Chenin Blanc, Central Otago, $45
Tasted alongside the 2019 vintage, this wine had a similar taste profile of green apple, lime and mineral/oyster shell but seemed more vibrant, with brighter, fresher acidity. I marginally preferred this wine, which I expect to develop very well with bottle age.
