The Chenin They Can't Stop Awarding
There's a bottle sitting in our range that keeps winning medals. Here's why.
Spier is one of South Africa's oldest wine estates. Founded in 1692 in Stellenbosch, with a cellar dating back to 1773, it's a name that has been shaping South African wine for longer than most wine regions in the world have existed. But heritage alone doesn't win competitions. What puts Spier in a different category is Johan Jordaan.
Spier's cellar master was named the world's best Chenin Blanc winemaker two years in a row at the Master Winemaker 100 in Paris, a blind tasting judged by Masters of Wine and Master Sommeliers. That title means something. It places Spier officially among the finest Chenin Blanc producers on the planet, not by reputation or history, but by the liquid in the glass.
The wine we're talking about is the Spier Seaward Chenin Blanc 2021, and it's worth understanding where it comes from.
Where the Atlantic meets the vine
The Seaward range takes its name and its character from geography. The vineyards sit in the Tygerberg Hills, a stretch of elevated terrain where cool Atlantic breezes roll in from the ocean and slow the ripening of the grapes. It's this combination of warmth and coastal influence that gives South African Chenin its particular personality: fuller and richer than a Loire Valley Vouvray, but with enough freshness and acidity to keep things alive.
The fruit is dryland-farmed, meaning no irrigation. The vines work hard for water, sending roots deep and producing grapes with concentrated flavour. After harvest, the wine is fermented and matured for six months in French oak, adding weight and a subtle texture without masking what makes Chenin Blanc interesting in the first place.
The result is a wine with ripe stone fruit and tropical notes up front, balanced by bright citrus acidity and a honeyed, lingering finish. With a few years of bottle age, the 2021 has moved beyond its youthful primary fruit into something a little more layered and complex.
A track record that speaks for itself
The Seaward Chenin Blanc is not a wine that got lucky once. Across recent vintages, it has collected Gold medals at the Veritas Awards (South Africa's most prestigious wine competition), the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles (over 7,000 wines, 375 judges, 56 countries), Mundus Vini, and the Global Wine Masters. The 2024 vintage was awarded a Master medal at the Global Chenin Blanc Masters, one of only three wines in the world to receive that distinction.
That kind of consistency across competitions and across vintages is what separates a genuinely well-made wine from a one-vintage wonder.
Worth knowing
Serve it cool, around 10 to 12°C. It's at its best with food that has a bit of richness to it: roast chicken, a creamy curry, Cape Malay bobotie if you want to stay thematic, or a good butternut squash dish. The honeyed, developed character of the 2021 works better alongside flavour than as a straight aperitif.
You can pick up the Spier Seaward Chenin Blanc 2021 here. At its current price, it's one of the best-value award-winning white wines we stock, and comfortably one of the most decorated Chenin Blancs you'll find under £20 anywhere.
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Spier Seaward Chenin Blanc 2021 £16.06 Chenin Blanc from the Tygerberg Hills, aged in French oak. Stone fruit, tropical notes and a honeyed finish. From the world's best Chenin Blanc winemaker, two years running. |
