Ahrens Family WhiteBlack 2023 Voor-Paardeberg, Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

The Ahrens Family label grew out of Albert Ahrens’s belief that the best wines have a clear address. He and his wife Heidi launched it in 2008, and Albert, shaped by vintages in the Rhone, Priorat and Champagne and years in the Swartland, has built a reputation for perfumed, savoury, unshowy wines. Everything is made with minimal intervention at a small cellar in the Paarl valley.

WhiteBlack was the first white Ahrens made, back in 2009, and it remains a signature. The name is a play on words: Swart means black, so a white wine from the greater Swartland becomes WhiteBlack. Rather than Chenin, it follows the region’s Mediterranean tradition, blending Grenache Blanc, Marsanne and Roussanne from three vineyards on the southern, granite-rich slopes of the Paardeberg, technically Voor-Paardeberg but Swartland in soul.

The cool 2023 vintage suited these aromatic Rhone whites well. A dry, warm winter ran into a cool, slightly wetter ripening spell, so the grapes ripened slowly and kept their freshness and delicacy. For a blend built on texture and perfume rather than power, that gentler season helped preserve the lift and the fine, stony line that make this wine what it is.

Pale gold with a green tint. The nose is delicate and floral, with pear, white peach, dried apricot, fennel and a hint of honeysuckle and wet stone. The palate is silky and gently textured, more savoury than fruity, with a fine, stony minerality, subtle nuttiness and a soft, creamy weight. It finishes long, dry and stony. Serve with grilled fish, roast chicken or creamy pasta, and enjoy over three to four years.

Tim James has described this as a fine, delicate, silky Voor-Paardeberg blend with lovely stoniness, and praised its way with food. In feel it belongs with the white wines of the southern Rhone, all texture and savour rather than sweetness. It is a natural partner for a good meal, and an easy recommendation for anyone who thinks they only like fruitier, more obvious whites.