By Rose Murray Brown MW    Published in The Scotsman 28 February 2026

One and a half hour’s drive from the nearest vineyard, Sijnn wine estate in the tiny wine ward of Malgas in Overberg is the most remote in the Western Cape.  Visiting is a challenge for the best driver on seemingly never-ending, bumpy dust tracks, but it is fascinating to visit here as the wines taste unlike anything else in South Africa.

As we turned into the estate the new winemaker Kruger Theunissen pointed out the Chenin Blanc vines.  This land used to be an old ostrich farm until wine pioneer David Trafford decided to plant vines back in 2003 as the large river stones, shale and schist reminded him of Chateauneuf du Pape and Douro valley.

“We have a raw wild climate here, so need low short bushvines to cope with harsh drying southeasterly wind; Chenin Blanc thrives in these dry conditions”, says Theunissen.  This year the severe drought and high temperatures have been extreme, but the diurnal shift here is dramatic (from 7 to 32 degrees in one day), so Sijnn’s grapes are very small, concentrated with fine natural acidity.

When Trafford planted Sijnn’s vineyards 23 years ago amidst the fynbos, he pre-planned the field blends to ensure no wastage.  The whites, in my opinion, are the best wines made here, with blends dominated by those tough stunted gnarly Chenin Blanc vines – alongside Rhone varietals Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier, Vermentino and Portugal’s Verdelho which all cope well in this dry rocky terrain.  What is interesting is how well Sijnn’s Chenin-based mediterranean blends can age.

On my South Africa trip, it was Chenin Blanc that I felt was now making many of South Africa’s most stylish whites.  It is the Cape’s most planted variety, with more grown here than in France, but this signature grape was for a long time treated as a workhorse grape churning out indifferent wines – now this is changing with superb world-class examples emerging.

One of the first to focus on old vine Cape Chenin Blanc was the legendary Ken Forrester, ‘King of Chenin’ (pictured below), based near Helderberg mountain in Stellenbosch.  Over half of his production is Chenin Blanc.  “It can make such diverse styles from sparkling Pet Nat to rich barrel fermented Chenins”, explained Forrester.  When grown on Clovelly deep yellow sandy loam, Stellenbosch old vine Chenins can be rich and structured – as if the volume has been turned up, but with juicy acidity and a certain electricity.

In the last twenty years, the Swartland region 50km northeast of Cape Town has emerged as the flagship region for Chenin Blanc.  Swartland, like Malgas, has very harsh dry terrain – with ancient soils, with shale around Malmesbury and poorer decomposed granite around Paardeberg.

My favourite varietal Swartland Chenin Blanc to date comes from David & Nadia based in Paardeberg, southeast Swartland.  This hard-working couple (David is pictured above at J&B’s tasting in Edinburgh) make incredibly pure wines – their single vineyard Skaliekop from shale soils is stunningly complex.  Across the Paardeberg valley, Eben Sadie is renowned for his Palladius blend and gunflinty Rotsbank Chenin Blanc – and neighbour Adi Badenhorst offers approachable creamy textural styles.

For one of the best glimpses of old vine Chenin Blanc greatness, on both shale and granite soils, head to the new winery Damascene (pictured above) – the newcomer to watch.  Founded in 2016 by the extraordinarily talented winemaker Jean Smit, who made his name at Boekenhoutskloof, Damascene produces two contrasting styles of Chenin Blanc from Stellenbosch and Swartland – but both precise detailed wines.

TOP CAPE CHENIN BLANC & BLENDS

Malgas: SIJNN ESTATE WHITE 2023  ***STAR BUY***

£29.99 Raeburn Fine Wines

Rich succulent intense citric fruit, honeyed notes, zesty, saline hints made by Sijnn’s first winemaker Charla Haasbroek.

Malgas: SIJNN ESTATE WHITE 2019

£27.99 Raeburn Fine Wines

Chenin Blanc with Viognier and Roussanne: rich honeyed, soft luscious palate, minerally, spicy and intense.

Swartland: SECATEURS CHENIN BLANC 2024 AA Badenhorst ***GOOD VALUE***

£14.50 The Wine Society

A characterful old vine Chenin blend from multiple vineyards; very creamy, weighty, almost oily texture; rich peachy fruit and zippy finish.

Swartland: CHENIN BLANC 2024 David & Nadia

£29 Justerini & Brooks; The Wine Society; Lay & Wheeler

An eight vineyard blend; floral notes, fabulous rich fruits, saline; very precise pure Chenin.

Swartland: CHENIN BLANC 2024 Damascene ***STAR BUY***

£44.95 Lea & Sandeman

Bright energetic citric fruited Chenin from granitic soils; tense, nervy, juicy acidity with a taut lingering finish.  Very good.

Swartland: SINGLE VINEYARD ‘SKALIEKOP’ CHENIN BLANC 2024 David & Nadia  ***STAR BUY***

£70 Justerini & Brooks; Lay & Wheeler

The best Chenin Blanc I have tasted (pictured above): shale grown 40 yr old old vine oak-aged Chenin at its best; zesty acidity, intense, chalky, minerally and saline with a long lingering finish.

Stellenbosch: OLD VINE RESERVE CHENIN BLANC 2025 Ken Forrester

£19.99 Laithwaites

Rich ripe structured and nutty barrel fermented with subtle spice and citric finish from the man who put Chenin Blanc back on the map.

Stellenbosch: CHENIN BLANC 2024 Damascene

£45.95 Lea & Sandeman

From three Bottelary vineyards on greywacke, shale and granite; rich rounded sweet fruits, juicy acidity and textured; Chenin with more structure and phenolic grip.

Join Rose’s Escorted Wine Tour to England’s Vineyards 16-20 June 2026 www.rosemurraybrown.com