California Chenin Blanc

Very tight nose. Taste is mineral with some creamy white fruit. Interesting.

This is my last bottle of the the 2016 Chenin Blanc “California” designation. We consumed this alongside the 2016 Huet Vouvray “Le Mont” Sec, you know, for fun! This wine pours a bright golden color with medium viscosity. The nose is mostly honeyed with white flowers. On the palate, quince, a touch of lime and a whole sheared sheep full of lanolin; more than any Chenin I can readily recall. Mouthfeel is creamy. Medium acid? I dunno, it’s kinda sneaky and might be closer to Medium+ but it doesn’t seem to have the acid that more recent vintages of Sandlands Chenin. Still, very tasty and seemed pretty young FWIW.

Very delicious. Somewhat rounded, some savory minerality. Good acidity but not nearly as acid driven as some Chenin.

True guilty pleasure. A wine this inexpensive shouldn’t make me smile this much! Clean, crisp, dry, simple, simple fun... with or without food. Lemon-lime, a bit of funk, touch of wooly lanolin, nice acid still driving the fruit towards that wonderful, long, lingering finish. Tegan... full props for keeping this wine affordable if still impossible to find apart from the list.

White peaches, pineapple, honeydew melons and loads of minerals - chalky, wet rock etc. Subtle and not overblown by any means.

Beeswax, apple peel, lanolin. A bliss inducing Chenin.

Second bottle of 2016. Drank the first one in a rush with 2 others. Drinking this with more patience. As this comes closer to room temp we both agree. Cartoon levels of saline, black cherry, granite, and as Sandlands says “suave structure”. Is this just awesome integration of new oak? Shoulda held on for a few more years but whatevs. Seeking joy. ❤️

Salinity mixed with bright apple and unripe pear notes. This didn’t deliver the acid bite I pulled the wine for, and therefore didn’t match the food as one would like.

Great salinity and balance

Coconut, pineapple, oak, tropical fruit, confectioner's sugar, more full bodied.