Incredibly dexterous, Chenin Blanc is capable of producing a wide range of styles from lusciously sweet to bone dry and sparkling to still. Indigenous to the Loire valley in France, some of the most popular sub regions include Savennières (exclusively dry), Vouvray, Montlouis, and Coteaux du Layon who's villages, Quarts de Chaume and Bonnezeaux make, when the weather permits, some of the finest dessert wines. In it's new home, in South Africa, it has taken over as the most planted varietal accounting for nearly a fifth the area under vines in the whole country and double what is grown in France. It may not retain its wet wool and honeyed aroma but its naturally high acidity is a saving grace for the countries hot Mediterranean climate.
The Loire, often referred to as the 'garden of France', is a diverse though sometimes under-valued region. From west to east, its sub regions include; Muscadet, Anjou & Saumur, Chinon & Bourgueil, Vouvray, Touraine, Sancerre & Pouilly-Fume.
Savennières is a highly respected white wine appellation of the Loire valley wine region of France. Located immediately southwest of the city of Angers, the parish of the same name falls within the wider Anjou district. The wines are made from the Chenin Blanc grape variety, the mainstay of Anjou and the central Loire.Though sweeter styles are permitted, the appellation is most associated with dry white wines. These are regarded as some of the finest in the entire Loire region. In quality terms they are the western Loire's answer to Sancerre and Vouvray.Savennières wines are typically intensely flavored, with flavors of warm straw, beeswax and chamomile. The best examples have discernible minerality and the ripest even a honeyed tinge. Botrytis once defined all of Savennieres' output, but is less common in the wines today.
