Raats Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2021
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Robert
Parker
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The wine offers a complex nose showing quince, white peach and yellow apple, with fenugreek spices give more dimension alongside the mineral intensity of the wine. The stone fruit character follows through onto an exceptionally balanced, very delicate and fine textured palate showing a peach-melba character with an exquisite length and freshness. The wine lingers with hints of ripe nectarine and apricot, zesty lemon and wet chalk.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Beginning with a broader mouthfeel and lively fresh focus, the 2021 Old Vine Chenin Blanc offers notions of crisp yellow apple and sweet citrus with notes of melon skin and citrus blossom. Medium-bodied and with 13% alcohol, the palate is fresh, complex and food-friendly, and it has a spicy, lingering finish, showing fantastic weight and texture. The wine fermented in a mix of half French oak barrels and half stainless steel vessels.
Other Vintages
2018-
Robert
Parker
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Wine
Enthusiast -
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
Raats Family Wines, founded in 2001 by brothers Bruwer and Jasper Raats, is focused solely on crafting world class Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc, best known as the premier grapes of France's Loire Valley. The small, family-owned winery has quickly established itself as a New World leader in the production of these two varietals, garnering tremendous critical acclaim – including consistent 90+ ratings – and a dedicated fan base.
Raats is truly a family operation, and the clan firmly believes that South Africa's proliferation of older Chenin Blanc vineyards provides a unique opportunity to craft terroir-driven wines that serve as international benchmarks for the varietal. Raats owns several hectares of estate vineyards in the Polkadraai Hills. In addition, they source Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc from several extremely low-yielding old vines parcels where Bruwer maintains complete control of viticulture. These sites are characterized by complex soils of sandstone and decomposed granite.
For Bruwer, the greatest part of crafting wines under your own label is that "you don't have to worry about shareholders or catering to a market, or to keeping within a cellar's style. You can have freedom of expression in something that you believe in." The Raats family continues to win over hordes of thirsty consumers worldwide with their passionate belief in the classic, versatile and decidedly stylish varietals of Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc.