Chenin Blanc, Ava, 2021
The more expressive, confident older sister to the shier, more reserved Noa. The most gorgeous texture here, the Ava Chenin 2021 marries a succulency of apples, stone fruit and honey with a touch of hay and oak and plum stones. Intense and reverberating but not heavy, just lots to like. Really long and focussed with a concentration and breadth that should see this develop handsomely in bottle. One of the Cape’s best Chenins. From schist-driven soils, fermented and aged in small, used oak barrels, the total production rarely exceeds 1,300bts.
critic reviews
Fuller-bodied and generously layered, yet still managing to capture elegance with weight, the 2021 AVA Chenin Blanc is ripe, focused and juicy. Medium to full-bodied, the palate offers breadth and complexity while showing a kiss of sweetness before a touch of phenolic bitterness appears across the mid-palate. The wine glides to a delightfully lingering and food-friendly finish. Give it a try!
The 2021 Chenin Blanc Ava comes from a small parcel of Chenin Blanc on schist soils. It has a neutral bouquet, light flinty scents with a touch of dry straw emerging with time. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, taut and linear, neutral in style like the nose with a twist of sour lemon on the finish. Excellent.