{"title":"Chenin Blanc Wine","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"bandito-skin-chenin-2018-testalonga-swartland-south-africa-75cl","title":"Bandito Skin Chenin 2018 - Testalonga - Swartland, South Africa 150cl Magnum","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat started off as a means of earning some cash for beer money seems to have got a little bit out of hand for Craig Hawkins. Having spent years travelling and working harvests with a who’s who of vignerons (Tom Lubbe of Matassa, Dirk Niepoort, Eben Sadie, etc) Craig and his wife Carla have now made a corner of Swartland their home where they produces some of the most sought after wines in world. Craig makes around 12 cuvees, using a variety of grapes under two labels: El Bandito and Baby Bandito. In the vineyard Craig is fiercely organic and flirting with biodynamic, while in the cellar he is as hands off as possible.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen he started his project Craig was very much in the left of left field. And this was not just because he was based in the wild west of Swartland where young growers who wanted to discover themselves gravitated. Craig has never been part of the mainstream, even in Swartland, but that is because he is not imitating anyone. He has a clear idea of what he wants to do, which is to make wines for his own satisfaction and to his own taste, rather than track the market. It is important to note that as his own taste has evolved so has the style of the wines. His independent and uncompromising approach has not always endeared him to South African authorities and he has been shunned by various critics and wine writers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Testalonga","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":32427662671932,"sku":"18TGSCGM","price":69.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0252\/2556\/0124\/products\/skincontactchenintestalongamagnum.png?v=1606169732"},{"product_id":"montlouis-les-cabotines-2017-chanson-loire-france-75cl","title":"Montlouis Les Cabotines 2017 - Ludovic Chanson - Loire, France 75cl","description":"\u003cp class=\"font_7\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFew producers sum up the quiet innovation and imagination encapsulated in the Montlouis sur Loire AOC as well as the young Ludovic Chanson, who is currently crafting gorgeous, interesting, and delicious renderings of his white wines. Having always had a passion for wine, Chanson left his job in pharmaceutical research in 2007 and went to work for the renowned Vouvray producer Vincent Carême, where he staged for one year. In 2008 he took over a 6.5 ha property in Montlouis, a small AOC that sits on the left bank of the Loire River opposite Vouvray, just east of the city of Tours. It had been organically farmed since 2006 and has since been certified. The property is primarily planted to Chenin Blanc, however there are also small plots of both Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font_7\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eChanson’s first vintage of solo production was 2009; he bottled a ripe Sauvignon Blanc as well as a bright, laser-like Chenin Blanc. His is a non-interventionist philosophy to winemaking that lead him to hand harvest with successive passes to select only grapes at optimal ripeness. He ferments with indigenous yeasts, utilizes no chaptalization, no enzymes, or benonite, and blocks malolactic fermentation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLes Cabotines is aged for one year in recent barrels, is Ludovic's favorite cuvée, because it is the archetype of fine and crystalline Montlouis, with again these pretty bitters on the finish which give the wine a beautiful personality. A little bottle will allow the aromatic to open up, but it is already a beautiful rock water, with a good length as it is. The 2017’s see a return to form for Ludo, not that he lost it in ’16, its just e didn’t have any wine! Cabotines is from a small parcel on the edge of the Husseau plateau and is bone dry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003ePecheurs is from an old vine parcel on the crest of the hill, in deep alluvial soil, and is sec tender, i.e. with 16g\/l of RS.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chanson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":32530406342716,"sku":"LC0117WA","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0252\/2556\/0124\/products\/lescabotines.png?v=1610386168"},{"product_id":"bush-vine-chenin-blanc-2019","title":"Bush Vine Chenin Blanc 2021","description":"\u003cp\u003eFounded in 1998, creator Alex Dale and his winemaking team believe in combining innovation with a healthy respect for tradition. In other words, the approach is neither old nor new, but instead a fusion of the two to get best of both worlds. The winery specializes in the mountainous viticultural sub-regions of the Helderberg area in Stellenbosch, Elgin and the Pederberg area in the Swartland. This is a fancy way of saying that they work with grapes from all of those areas, rather than growing all the fruit on their property. The result is an extremely approachable, classy and elegant, all-occasion wine that is highly drinkable – and affordable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Winery of Good Hope prides itself on the distinguishing characteristics that set it apart from other South African producers. In fact, the team can list five things they do that make them different: they question everything and do whatever is needed to make a wine that speaks for itself and where it comes from; they let the land decide and work with grapes from various vineyards to make the right wine; they don’t enter competitions, yet are still more complex and balanced than the ones that do; and finally, they take just as good care of the land and people as they do of grapes they grow. Oh, and they love Chenin Blanc.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Winery of Good Hope","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":32587656724540,"sku":"21GDHCHF","price":10.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0252\/2556\/0124\/products\/White-1_b443618d-a28a-4a62-aa74-affa307eb90d.png?v=1604665119"},{"product_id":"secateurs-2020-aa-badenhorst-swartland-south-africa-75cl","title":"Secateurs Riviera 2021","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs far as we know, no one has yet produced a vaccine to protect against Adi Badenhorst. So contagious is his lust for life that you can't help but be infected by it, whether it means you find yourself bundled into the back of his Silverado and taken on a bone-rattling tour of his vineyards or dragged into his cellar to lend a hand with the blending. Not so much a winemaker as a force of nature, he handed in his notice after 10 honourable years at Rustenberg to launch his own label A. A. Badenhorst Family Wines.\u003cbr\u003eOne often hears wine merchants saying that winemakers like to let the wines speak for themselves. Well, Adi's wines would be lucky to get a word in edgeways. He is a fast-talking, quick-witted, warm-hearted kind of guy; a blend of one half talent, one half intuition and one half rock star. Like our understanding of fractions, Adi's grasp on the precise technical specifications of his wines is not his strongpoint, but his aim is not perfection but personality. He may not be able to quote tartaric acid levels on request, but he is on first name terms with each of his vines. If you want to drink wines with soul that were made using gut feel rather than technical recipes, then this is definitely where you should be focusing your attention.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday, Swartland is buzzing like California during the Gold Rush, except the lure is grapes not gold. Its fabulously old bush vines are attracting the country's most pioneering winemakers, who have been drawn to the rich variety of organically-farmed, low-yielding vines - a legacy from the early settlers in the region. Fantastic, but previously neglected, old vineyards are being brought back to life by winemakers, such as Adi, Eben Sadie, Chris Mullineux and Marc Kent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdi took over an ancient winery in the up-and-coming Paardeberg area of Swartland that had been built in the 1800s and had last been used in the 1930s. This meant fashionable concrete tanks and, according to the 2009 Platter Guide, a sizeable bat population. Even more importantly, they acquired 35 hectares of mature, dry-farmed bush vines, which clearly deliver great quality and complexity. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe A.A. Badenhorst Family labels seem to have divided a few people (we happen to love them!), but we thought we would mention a few details that are quite endearing. On the front label, there are a pair of secateurs on the right-hand edge, which mark the halfway point of the bottle. This was inspired by a traditional drink in the region called Oom Tas (see below), which the farm workers used to share after a hard day's work. To avoid arguments, Oom Tas made a mark on the label to show when half the bottle had been drunk. When they took the halfway mark off the label, sales plummeted, so they quickly put it back again! Beneath the vintage on the A.A. Badenhorst front label are two flowers, which represent the male and the female flowers of the vine and on the back label, Adi has cunningly transformed the boring bar code into a reed bed.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"AA Badenhorst - Swartland, South Africa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39255617470524,"sku":"SBADENW21B04","price":19.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0252\/2556\/0124\/products\/secateursreviera.png?v=1615319384"},{"product_id":"golden-slopes-chenin-blanc-2020-aa-badenhorst-swartland-south-africa-75cl","title":"Golden Slopes Chenin Blanc 2019 - AA Badenhorst - Swartland, South Africa 75cl","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs far as we know, no one has yet produced a vaccine to protect against Adi Badenhorst. So contagious is his lust for life that you can't help but be infected by it, whether it means you find yourself bundled into the back of his Silverado and taken on a bone-rattling tour of his vineyards or dragged into his cellar to lend a hand with the blending. Not so much a winemaker as a force of nature, he handed in his notice after 10 honourable years at Rustenberg to launch his own label A. A. Badenhorst Family Wines.\u003cbr\u003eOne often hears wine merchants saying that winemakers like to let the wines speak for themselves. Well, Adi's wines would be lucky to get a word in edgeways. He is a fast-talking, quick-witted, warm-hearted kind of guy; a blend of one half talent, one half intuition and one half rock star. Like our understanding of fractions, Adi's grasp on the precise technical specifications of his wines is not his strongpoint, but his aim is not perfection but personality. He may not be able to quote tartaric acid levels on request, but he is on first name terms with each of his vines. If you want to drink wines with soul that were made using gut feel rather than technical recipes, then this is definitely where you should be focusing your attention.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday, Swartland is buzzing like California during the Gold Rush, except the lure is grapes not gold. Its fabulously old bush vines are attracting the country's most pioneering winemakers, who have been drawn to the rich variety of organically-farmed, low-yielding vines - a legacy from the early settlers in the region. Fantastic, but previously neglected, old vineyards are being brought back to life by winemakers, such as Adi, Eben Sadie, Chris Mullineux and Marc Kent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdi took over an ancient winery in the up-and-coming Paardeberg area of Swartland that had been built in the 1800s and had last been used in the 1930s. This meant fashionable concrete tanks and, according to the 2009 Platter Guide, a sizeable bat population. Even more importantly, they acquired 35 hectares of mature, dry-farmed bush vines, which clearly deliver great quality and complexity. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe A.A. Badenhorst Family labels seem to have divided a few people (we happen to love them!), but we thought we would mention a few details that are quite endearing. On the front label, there are a pair of secateurs on the right-hand edge, which mark the halfway point of the bottle. This was inspired by a traditional drink in the region called Oom Tas (see below), which the farm workers used to share after a hard day's work. To avoid arguments, Oom Tas made a mark on the label to show when half the bottle had been drunk. When they took the halfway mark off the label, sales plummeted, so they quickly put it back again! Beneath the vintage on the A.A. Badenhorst front label are two flowers, which represent the male and the female flowers of the vine and on the back label, Adi has cunningly transformed the boring bar code into a reed bed.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"AA Badenhorst","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39255627595836,"sku":"SBADENW19B13","price":40.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0252\/2556\/0124\/products\/goldenslopes.png?v=1615316236"},{"product_id":"onra-blanco-2019-lagravera-costers-del-segre-spain-75cl","title":"Onra Blanco 2019 - Lagravera - Costers del Segre, Spain 75cl","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLagravera is owned by the local Arno family, but is actually run by Oenologist Pilar, viticulturist Miguel and general all round good guy Sergio. The vineyards are over three plots to the north of Lleida on the road to Sort, and ultimately over the Vielha pass to France. Here in Costers del Segre, there used to 120,000 hectares of vines, and now there are just 4000, of which 2000 are owned by one estate. Where Lagravera are, vines are almost extinct, and it is through their hard work and exploration that one or two old plots are being revived.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe first plot is a gravel based next to the main river in the valley and in which Grenache, Grenache Blanc, and one or two other varieties are planted and farmed biodynamically and is the source of fruit for Onra. The second plot is a vineyard of 24 unidentified varieties planted further up the valley on sandy loam and limestone, dating back at least to 1889. This one hectare pot provides fruit for the La Pell wines, which are an extraordinary labour of love, and more of which further on. The third plot is higher in altitude and combines old vines and massale selected cuttings from the original pllot as a sort of nursery vineyard.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFerments and natural and in stainless steel, Stockinger foudre and Pauscha cuves for the Onra wines (and Ciclic, which we will ship later in the year). The La Pell wines are aged in amphora, or demijohns depending on the specific vine, even a magnum ofr one particular variety. The blends are exocitc and beguiling to say the least.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis is a young estate with history at its heart and the wines have a real sense of place. Onra white is Grenache based with just a tiny dash of Sauvignon Blanc, and is fresh, but quietly concentrated and long. The Altra is a fun bistro red, whilst Naturel is a co blend that Pilar made to harness the freshness of 16 and the ripeness of 18. It also shows the future of the Onra wines and Ciclic cuvees, being fresh, juicy and structured whilst being so full of life.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lagravera","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39303936540732,"sku":"LG0619WA","price":18.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0252\/2556\/0124\/products\/Onra_11470a2e-cf05-443b-8b87-f4025a8c1ff8.png?v=1617983318"},{"product_id":"el-bandito-cortez-chenin-2019-testalonga-swartland-south-africa-75cl","title":"El Bandito Cortez Chenin 2019 - Testalonga - Swartland, South Africa","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA fascinating Chenin, rich, dry and mineral with aromas of wild honey and freshly baked bread. Deep and complex with a core of pear and orange peel, herbs, nuts and saltiness. Jura-like in style but distinctively New World.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat started off as a means of earning some cash for beer money seems to have got a little bit out of hand for Craig Hawkins. Having spent years travelling and working harvests with a who’s who of vignerons (Tom Lubbe of Matassa, Dirk Niepoort, Eben Sadie, etc) Craig and his wife Carla have now made a corner of Swartland their home where they produces some of the most sought after wines in world. Craig makes around 12 cuvees, using a variety of grapes under two labels: El Bandito and Baby Bandito. In the vineyard Craig is fiercely organic and flirting with biodynamic, while in the cellar he is as hands off as possible.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen he started his project Craig was very much in the left of left field. And this was not just because he was based in the wild west of Swartland where young growers who wanted to discover themselves gravitated. Craig has never been part of the mainstream, even in Swartland, but that is because he is not imitating anyone. He has a clear idea of what he wants to do, which is to make wines for his own satisfaction and to his own taste, rather than track the market. It is important to note that as his own taste has evolved so has the style of the wines. His independent and uncompromising approach has not always endeared him to South African authorities and he has been shunned by various critics and wine writers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Testalonga","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39337701376060,"sku":"19TGBCZF","price":30.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0252\/2556\/0124\/products\/cortezchenin_5067e923-dbec-4d4c-bfdf-a60e543a2d14.png?v=1620232461"},{"product_id":"secateurs-chenin-blanc-2020-aa-badenhorst-swartland-south-africa-75cl-1","title":"Secateurs Chenin Blanc 2021 - AA Badenhorst - Swartland, South Africa 75cl","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs far as we know, no one has yet produced a vaccine to protect against Adi Badenhorst. So contagious is his lust for life that you can't help but be infected by it, whether it means you find yourself bundled into the back of his Silverado and taken on a bone-rattling tour of his vineyards or dragged into his cellar to lend a hand with the blending. Not so much a winemaker as a force of nature, he handed in his notice after 10 honourable years at Rustenberg to launch his own label A. A. Badenhorst Family Wines.\u003cbr\u003eOne often hears wine merchants saying that winemakers like to let the wines speak for themselves. Well, Adi's wines would be lucky to get a word in edgeways. He is a fast-talking, quick-witted, warm-hearted kind of guy; a blend of one half talent, one half intuition and one half rock star. Like our understanding of fractions, Adi's grasp on the precise technical specifications of his wines is not his strongpoint, but his aim is not perfection but personality. He may not be able to quote tartaric acid levels on request, but he is on first name terms with each of his vines. If you want to drink wines with soul that were made using gut feel rather than technical recipes, then this is definitely where you should be focusing your attention.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday, Swartland is buzzing like California during the Gold Rush, except the lure is grapes not gold. Its fabulously old bush vines are attracting the country's most pioneering winemakers, who have been drawn to the rich variety of organically-farmed, low-yielding vines - a legacy from the early settlers in the region. Fantastic, but previously neglected, old vineyards are being brought back to life by winemakers, such as Adi, Eben Sadie, Chris Mullineux and Marc Kent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdi took over an ancient winery in the up-and-coming Paardeberg area of Swartland that had been built in the 1800s and had last been used in the 1930s. This meant fashionable concrete tanks and, according to the 2009 Platter Guide, a sizeable bat population. Even more importantly, they acquired 35 hectares of mature, dry-farmed bush vines, which clearly deliver great quality and complexity. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe A.A. Badenhorst Family labels seem to have divided a few people (we happen to love them!), but we thought we would mention a few details that are quite endearing. On the front label, there are a pair of secateurs on the right-hand edge, which mark the halfway point of the bottle. This was inspired by a traditional drink in the region called Oom Tas (see below), which the farm workers used to share after a hard day's work. To avoid arguments, Oom Tas made a mark on the label to show when half the bottle had been drunk. When they took the halfway mark off the label, sales plummeted, so they quickly put it back again! Beneath the vintage on the A.A. Badenhorst front label are two flowers, which represent the male and the female flowers of the vine and on the back label, Adi has cunningly transformed the boring bar code into a reed bed.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"AA Badenhorst","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39356476325948,"sku":"SBADENW21B02","price":14.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0252\/2556\/0124\/products\/Secateurs_a16ce129-3a98-499a-ac39-e50712fcc201.png?v=1621602128"},{"product_id":"force-celeste-chenin-blanc-2020-mother-rock-wines-swartland-south-africa-75cl","title":"Force Celeste Chenin Blanc 2020 - Mother Rock Wines - Swartland, South Africa 75cl","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMother Rock is a collaboration between winemaker Johan 'Stompie' Meyer and Indigo (importer) founder Ben Henshaw. Johan, a rising star of the new South African wine scene, developed strong relationships with some of the best grape growers across the Cape over the years, and as a result he has gained access to some of the region’s best fruit. Noticing a gap in the UK market for artisanal, well-made South African Chenin at an accessible price, they decided to use this fruit to create the first 'Force Majeure' wine range and following with the ‘Mother Rock’ labels, focusing on discovering exceptional parcels of well-farmed vines grown on a variety of soil types and vinified as simply as possible. These are terroir-focused wines made to offer drinkability and enjoyment, and it doesn’t hurt that the labels are beautiful. Ultimately, Mother Rock is about showcasing the best and purest expression of South Africa’s diverse terroir.\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Mother Rock Wines","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39434790109244,"sku":"MOTFCC20B12","price":18.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0252\/2556\/0124\/products\/forceceleste_4271d6d1-ae5b-42bf-a56a-2d326925f6f3.png?v=1627498434"},{"product_id":"les-pieces-longues-2020","title":"Les Pièces Longues 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMas de Périé is run by the young Fabien Jouves and located on the Haut Plateau south west of Cahors in Trespoux Rassiels. The soil here is complex clay and Quercy Limestone, a brilliant white tufo style limestone that is soft and very permeable. There are incidences of gravel here and there and this serves to produce wines with more immediacy and freshness. The theme continues but there are also areas of Sidérolithique, a complex blend of sand, chalk, clay, and mineral. Where this can be found, so the wines develop more complex deeper tones. The vines are managed along biodynamique principles. The fruit is handpicked and selected at the winery prior to ferment in inert oak and concrete depending on the cuvée and maceration is usually by pigeage for around 30 days. The resulting wines are neither filtered or fined, and Fabien’s 5 years in Bordeaux have lent him the skill to manage the tannins extremely well. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe wines have two distinct characteristics. First they are as pure as can be, with a direct expression of the terroir and variety, holding focus and balance whilst still portraying the classic deep inky Cahors style. Second, these wines are drinkable. I know this sounds a little basic, but they have freshness, life and restraint. They will age, for sure, but to drink them now is no chore. How many Cahors can you say that of?\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFabien is obviously world famous for his Mas del Perie wines, super fresh terroir tuned wines from malbec grown on the high Quercy plateau, but as many of you will know, he also has his own side project producing wines which not only have the ultimate thirst quenching characters, but have a message to give. These wines are produced with limited cuvaison, no added SO2 and are typically Vin de Soif made for drinking in the year after harvest. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e100% Chenin Blanc. 20yo vines taken from existing cuttings of the region planted on Kimmeridgian Limestone at an alt. of 350m. Barrel fermented in used oak and aged on the lees for 8 months in foudres and barrique.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mas del Perie \/ Fabien Jouves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39605010792508,"sku":"FJ0620WA","price":28.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0252\/2556\/0124\/products\/piecelongues_23bc193f-003c-4e71-9d30-a849737f1aba.png?v=1637098717"},{"product_id":"baby-bandito-keep-on-punchingchenin-2021-testalonga","title":"Baby Bandito Keep On PunchingChenin 2021 - Testalonga","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat started off as a means of earning some cash for beer money seems to have got a little bit out of hand for Craig Hawkins. Having spent years travelling and working harvests with a who’s who of vignerons (Tom Lubbe of Matassa, Dirk Niepoort, Eben Sadie, etc) Craig and his wife Carla have now made a corner of Swartland their home where they produces some of the most sought after wines in world. Craig makes around 12 cuvees, using a variety of grapes under two labels: El Bandito and Baby Bandito. In the vineyard Craig is fiercely organic and flirting with biodynamic, while in the cellar he is as hands off as possible.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen he started his project Craig was very much in the left of left field. And this was not just because he was based in the wild west of Swartland where young growers who wanted to discover themselves gravitated. Craig has never been part of the mainstream, even in Swartland, but that is because he is not imitating anyone. He has a clear idea of what he wants to do, which is to make wines for his own satisfaction and to his own taste, rather than track the market. It is important to note that as his own taste has evolved so has the style of the wines. 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Jura-like in style but distinctively New World.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat started off as a means of earning some cash for beer money seems to have got a little bit out of hand for Craig Hawkins. Having spent years travelling and working harvests with a who’s who of vignerons (Tom Lubbe of Matassa, Dirk Niepoort, Eben Sadie, etc) Craig and his wife Carla have now made a corner of Swartland their home where they produces some of the most sought after wines in world. Craig makes around 12 cuvees, using a variety of grapes under two labels: El Bandito and Baby Bandito. In the vineyard Craig is fiercely organic and flirting with biodynamic, while in the cellar he is as hands off as possible.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen he started his project Craig was very much in the left of left field. And this was not just because he was based in the wild west of Swartland where young growers who wanted to discover themselves gravitated. 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Ultimately, Mother Rock is about showcasing the best and purest expression of South Africa’s diverse terroir.\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"Mother Rock Wines","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44533422522687,"sku":"MROLSK21B12","price":27.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0252\/2556\/0124\/products\/liquidskin_ea32075c-1da2-4732-a3d9-b3fc962c4a5b.png?v=1676999623"},{"product_id":"secateurs-chenin-blanc-2022-aa-badenhorst-swartland-south-africa-75cl","title":"Secateurs Chenin Blanc 2022","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs far as we know, no one has yet produced a vaccine to protect against Adi Badenhorst. So contagious is his lust for life that you can't help but be infected by it, whether it means you find yourself bundled into the back of his Silverado and taken on a bone-rattling tour of his vineyards or dragged into his cellar to lend a hand with the blending. Not so much a winemaker as a force of nature, he handed in his notice after 10 honourable years at Rustenberg to launch his own label A. A. Badenhorst Family Wines.\u003cbr\u003eOne often hears wine merchants saying that winemakers like to let the wines speak for themselves. Well, Adi's wines would be lucky to get a word in edgeways. He is a fast-talking, quick-witted, warm-hearted kind of guy; a blend of one half talent, one half intuition and one half rock star. Like our understanding of fractions, Adi's grasp on the precise technical specifications of his wines is not his strongpoint, but his aim is not perfection but personality. He may not be able to quote tartaric acid levels on request, but he is on first name terms with each of his vines. 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In other words, the approach is neither old nor new, but instead a fusion of the two to get best of both worlds. The winery specializes in the mountainous viticultural sub-regions of the Helderberg area in Stellenbosch, Elgin and the Pederberg area in the Swartland. This is a fancy way of saying that they work with grapes from all of those areas, rather than growing all the fruit on their property. The result is an extremely approachable, classy and elegant, all-occasion wine that is highly drinkable – and affordable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Winery of Good Hope prides itself on the distinguishing characteristics that set it apart from other South African producers. 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Oh, and they love Chenin Blanc.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Winery of Good Hope - Stellenbosch, South Africa","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49490494816575,"sku":"22GDHCHF","price":12.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0252\/2556\/0124\/products\/White-1_b443618d-a28a-4a62-aa74-affa307eb90d.png?v=1604665119"}],"url":"https:\/\/winefreedom.co.uk\/collections\/chenin-blanc-wine.oembed?page=2","provider":"Wine Freedom","version":"1.0","type":"link"}