Ahrens Family Koffieklip Chenin 2023 Swartland, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

Albert Ahrens set up The Ahrens Family with his wife Heidi in 2008, working from a small cellar at Wildepaardejacht just south of Paarl. After years in the Rhone, Priorat and Champagne, and a long spell as cellarmaster at Lammershoek in the Swartland, he built a range around one idea: every wine should carry an address, a fixed sense of where it comes from.

Koffieklip sits in his single-vineyard Terroir range, a 100 percent Chenin Blanc from bush vines planted in 1984 in the north-western Swartland. The name comes from the shallow sandy topsoil that gives way to iron-rich ferricrete, the reddish-brown rock locals call koffieklip, or coffee stone. Dry-farmed old vines here give small yields of deeply flavoured fruit, which is exactly what Ahrens wants from this warm site.

The 2023 season played into the hands of Swartland whites. A dry, warm winter was followed by a notably cool, slightly wetter ripening period, with none of the heat spikes that can push warm-region fruit over the edge. Ahrens picks in components at different ripeness levels, some early for acidity and freshness, some later for richness, then blends them for balance. The cool finish to the season kept everything in tune.

Expect a deep, bright gold in the glass and a generous nose of baked apple, quince, dried peach and a twist of honey and toasted nuts. The palate is broad and textured, with ripe orchard fruit, a waxy Chenin richness and a savoury, stony undertow from the iron-rich soil. Well-judged acidity keeps the long finish fresh. Serve lightly chilled with roast chicken or a mature Cape cheese, and cellar for up to five years.

Ahrens’s old vine Chenins are regulars in South Africa’s Platter’s guide, and this wooded, single-vineyard style sits comfortably alongside the Cape’s most serious white wines. If the lighter Kwarts van die Paarl is the delicate end of his Chenin family, Koffieklip is the powerhouse, richer and more sun-filled. It rewards a proper occasion and a good meal, and it is confident enough to hold its own on any table.