Steen 2019

“Already a joy to drink.” – Jancis Robinson

Don’t be a donkey, choose Donkiesbaai Steen as your wine for this summer.

Steen is the South African name for Chenin Blanc, and this stunning one comes from old dry-farmed bush vines grown at the holiday of the Engelbrecht family in Piekenierskloof, an independent wine ward in the Citrusal district of the Olifants River region of South Africa’s Western Cape.

The wine itself is an immense labour of love, crafted from five elaborate components: one fermented in tank and aged in old barrels for six months, one fermented in French oak and aged in a mix of new and old barrels, one fermented with ambient yeast and matured on the lees in concrete eggs, one fermented with ambient yeast in clay amphorae and the last one was vinified in stainless steel.

When those components are all blended together, it creates a wine that’s alive with frangipani, lemon curd, peaches and cream, nectarine, pineapple, tangy gooseberry, zesty citrus, baked apple, honey, smoke and beach-like salinity. The Engelbrechts recommend pairing it with crayfish, but also consider barbeques, ceviche, creamy pasta or roast pork.