Metzer Montane Chenin Blanc 2019

Wade Metzer is a real talent who not only makes some of South Africa’s best Chenin, but also outstanding reds from vineyards in the Helderberg mountain on the south-eastern eastern edge of Stellenbosch.

Metzer Family Wines was born in 2006 after Wade had spent some time being mentored by Eben Sadie, who is the perhaps the most influential South African winemaker of the last 20 years. Wade sought out parcels of old vines tucked away from some of the flashier more touristic wineries and is currently working with 6 old vineyards under contract. The maritime breezes which come up from False Bay, and the altitude from the Helderberg itself give the wines from here freshness and balance alongside ripeness. His simple aim is to nurture this wonderful old-vine fruit from vine to bottle with minimal input along the way, allowing the essential characteristics of the fruit and vineyard to shine through.

In the Metzer cellar a great emphasis is placed on the minimum handling of fruit, and no mechanical interventions with pumps, filters and reverse osmosis machines never used in the process. Fermentation by indigenous yeasts, alive on the grapes and resident in the cellar, leads to long, stable extraction times. Wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered to preserve the "life-forces" from vineyard to bottle. A traditional basket-press is used for gentle extraction of the reds.

The Montane Chenin Blanc is a single-vineyard wine from a bush vine parcel planted in 1964 on the foothills of the Helderberg mountain. The grapes were handpicked in the early morning hours to preserve fruit integrity. The grapes were then gently pressed after a brief period of skin contact. The juice was settled overnight without the use of settling enzymes and from here it was fed directly to seasoned French oak barrels where fermentation occurred spontaneously. The wine was aged on its lees in barrel for 9 months, with no batonnage then bottled after a coarse filtration.

The wine offers an understated bouquet that unfolds delicately in the glass, with hints of apple, hay and ginger spice. The palate is beautifully balanced with a great textural dimension from the old vines. It has a vibrant mineral core with a touch of citrus on the finish leaving a slight tannic grip after the wine has departed.