Beaumont Chenin Blanc 2022 Bot River, Walker Bay, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

Beaumont’s family farm in Bot River is one of the oldest wine properties in the Overberg, with a cellar dating back to the 1700s, and Chenin Blanc is its calling card. This is the estate’s core bottling, made in the same careful spirit as its more ambitious wines but built for easy, everyday drinking.

Bot River’s cool, breezy conditions suit Chenin well, holding freshness and natural acidity in the fruit. Made in a bright, mostly unoaked style, this pure Chenin Blanc keeps things clean and direct, showing the variety’s natural charm without heavy winemaking getting in the way.

The 2022 vintage gave fresh, balanced whites across the Cape, with lively acidity. That freshness is the making of this wine, which feels crisp and lifted from start to finish, an easy expression of a producer who takes Chenin seriously.

It offers green apple, lemon and a hint of white peach, with a flinty, mineral edge that adds real interest for the price. Light to medium in body, dry and crisp, it finishes clean and refreshing, leaving you ready for the next sip. Serve it well chilled.

An all-rounder for the table, it works with grilled fish, salads, roast chicken or simply on its own on the terrace. If you enjoy dry Loire whites or a zippy unoaked white, this honest, well-made Bot River Chenin is very easy to love. It is a reliable house white with rather more character than its modest billing suggests, and it never once outstays its welcome at the table.