Ahrens Family Soutsteen Palomino Chenin 2023 Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

Albert Ahrens is the driving force behind The Ahrens Family, the small Paarl label he founded with his wife Heidi in 2008. He is a restless sourcer of fruit, covering huge distances each year to find old vines and unusual sites, and a firm believer that a wine’s greatest asset is a clear sense of origin. His range runs from single-vineyard bottlings to blends that explore a whole region.

Soutsteen was his first two-region wine, and one of his most characterful. The bulk is Palomino, the neutral, saline grape best known for sherry in Jerez, grown on a hot, dry plateau around 700 metres up in Piekenierskloof where cool nights keep it fresh. To that he adds Chenin Blanc from Paarl, chosen each year to lend flesh and balance. Sout means salt, steen is the Cape word for Chenin.

The 2023 vintage was a kind one for Cape whites. A dry, warm winter led into a cool, slightly wetter ripening period that let grapes come in slowly and evenly, keeping natural acidity high. That freshness matters here, because it frames Palomino’s salty, mineral character rather than letting the wine turn broad or flat. At 12.5 percent alcohol, it stays light on its feet.

Pale straw in the glass. The nose is delicate and savoury, with green apple, lemon, dried pear, blanched almond and a distinct salty, chalky note. The palate is light-bodied and dry, more about texture and mineral tang than overt fruit, with a saline, almost sea-spray freshness and a crisp, clean finish. It is made for the table. Try it with oysters, grilled fish or salty tapas, well chilled.

There is very little quite like this in South Africa, which is part of the appeal. In spirit it nods to the saline, food-loving whites of coastal Spain and Portugal rather than to anything mainstream. Serve it as an aperitif or alongside seafood and it comes into its own, an easy conversation-starter for anyone who enjoys wines with a story and a genuinely distinctive twist.