Chenin Blanc, the versatile white wine variety which hails from the Anjou region in the Loire Valley in France, produces a range of styles from bone dry through to rich and sweet. Good examples include unwooded, dry to off dry wines as well as some excellent sparkling wines.

Chenin Blanc is also used to make our highly successful and competitive table brandies .This versatility has allowed it to become the biggest grape variety planted in the Cape, taking 18.6% of our vineyard area ? far more than it's grown in France.

Sometimes referred to in South Africa as steen, the emphasis today is on elevating increased quality in the production of these wines. As such, the Chenin Blanc Association was formed in 1999 with its aim to ensure that our local Chenin Blanc takes its rightful place with other great white wines of the world.

Since then we have seen prominent Chenin Blanc producers giving meticulous attention to their vineyards along with innovative vinification. The result is top quality Chenin Blanc wines which easily rival any other classic varietal.

The Kleine Zalze Wine farm outside Stellenbosch is a formidable producer of Chenin Blanc and at the recent Wine magazines 2010 Guala Closures Chenin Blanc Challenge two of their Chenins received the top awards.

The award for 'Best Chenin Overall' went to the barrel fermented Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection 2008 and the Kleine Zalze Cellar Selection Bush Vines 2009 (unwooded) received the award for 'Best Value Chenin Blanc'. The awards are wonderful achievements for both cellarmaster Johan Joubert and owner Kobus Basson.

Kleine Zalze has been producing wine since 1695 but since Kobus Basson purchased the farm in 1996 there have been significant improvements. The cellar was modernised and the vineyards replanted with new clones.

Each vineyard block is vinified independently to give the winemaking team the ingredients to create wines that are typical of the area. They also ensure the vineyards are assessed and managed individually during the growth period prior to picking. Quality before quantity is foremost so extensive yield reduction is done to produce their excellent fruit driven wines.

The award winning wines were announced during a luncheon at Jordan Restaurant on the 14th January. Chef George Jardine created a menu to match each winning wine and the highlight for me was the first course, a presse of salt- and sugar-cured trout, sundried tomato, with a tomato and basil mousse, served with the unwooded Kleine Zalze Cellar Selection Bush Vines 2009.

The expression of flavour from this delicious wine interacted perfectly with the delicate taste of the trout. This Chenin is made from 25-year-old bush vines and although unwooded, it has a richness resulting from five months of lees contact which gives the complex full-bodied mouth feel and length.

It's a super wine to drink now with or without food and you will be pleasantly surprised if you put some away for another two years!

Expect to Pay R37.50