93 Points! The David & Nadia 2024 Swartland Chenin Blanc is built from eight single vineyards planted between 1968 and 1986 (and all recorded in the Old Vine Register), with 16 separate pickings forming the backbone of the blend. Whole-bunch pressing and restrained skin contact preserve clarity, aiming for a linear and tactile expression. While Swartland is often associated with shale, roughly 70% of this blend comes from granite soils, with additional iron-rich clay, limestone and ferricrete contributing nuance. The nose is expressive and focused, while the palate is tighter and less immediately expansive, favoring structure over volume. The wine reflects the region’s old-vine Chenin Blanc heritage and reinforces the Swartland’s growing identity as a benchmark for the variety. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

91 Points! The 2022 Jurassic Vineyard Old Vine Chenin Blanc slowly emerges from the glass with notes of Golden Delicious apples, fresh pears, and wet slate plus touches of beeswax and coriander seed. The dry, medium-bodied palate delivers a satiny texture and racy acidity, finishing with a lemony lift. This wine was barrel-fermented and aged in French oak...The Jurassic Vineyard, planted in 1982, is situated at an elevation of 1,000 feet. The name pays tribute to the fossil-rich soils that force the vines to look deep for nutrients and water. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent

An important new source! The fermentation of this classically styled white, Aubépine, takes place in old oak barrels with the total lees from the press—no débourbage (wherein the lees are settled before the wine is racked off them). There are no finings and filtrations, nor additions of sulfites—though, as already mentioned, necessary exceptions can be made. Fermentations can last months or more than a year before dry. Aubépine is a specific site of old vines closer to the Cher than the Loire.