THE BOSMAN’S Optenhorst Vineyard, ‘perched on top of a hill’ in the Bovlei Valley of Wellington, was last planted in 1952. Which makes it home to some of THE oldest vines in South Africa (see here). Chenin Blanc! And from it comes one the country’s best quality and most interesting wines: the 2010 vintage judged one of the Top 100 SA Wines at the National Wine Challenge in 2012; the 2011 vintage a winner at the 2016 Trophy Wine Show; the 2012 and 2014 Highly Recommended in Platter’s SA Wine Guide.

The family has been involved in wine farming for many generations, with the first Bosman having arrived at the property in 1792. Although they focused on the vine nursery side of the business at Lelienfontein for a period from 1957, winemaking resumed in 2007 with Petrus Bosman at the helm and Corlea Fourie in charge of a refurbished cellar built 250 years earlier.

It was from 2010 that the team endeavoured to show more of the Optenhorst terroir, going the route of natural fermentation (no cultivated yeast) and less wooding (older French oak barrels and shorter time therein).

Bosman Optenhorst Chenin Blanc 2016

Single Vineyard; 3255 vines. WO Wellington. Grapes from 64-year-old bushvines.
Barrel-fermented using wild yeast and matured in 228-litre French oak casks for 6 months.
Alc 13.0 | R/S 2.5 | TA 5.8 | pH 3.8
Winemaker’s Tasting Notes: on the nose, a melange of apricot, nectarine, grapefruit rind, honey and almond brittle; restrained mouthfeel, with a mineral accent on the finish.
Pairing Suggestions: seared scallops, grilled chicken or tuna.
Best 2 to 10 years after vintage.
R325 pb from the cellar.