Villion Wines Chenin Blanc 2023

Winemaking: The grapes for this wine come from an older vineyard planted in 1983. After harvest, the juice is lightly pressed and a small percentage of the grapes are kept with the skins for extra extraction. The rest of the juice is fermented at low temperatures in stainless steel tanks. After fermentation, the juice is blended and transferred to 400L French oak barrels (from Burgundy) where the wine is aged for 11 months, 25% of these barrels are renewed annually.
Producer & Region:
Villion Family Wines focuses on the production of premium wines. This means that vineyards are selected for specific contributions to create wines of international distinction. Selection criteria include the age of the vineyards, sustainable and environmentally friendly production methods, limited yields, high altitude locations, clone differences and proximity to the ocean. Villion Family Wines is not limited to using only fruit from a specific area, but uses the strengths of fruit from different areas to create unique wine styles.

Jacobus A.S. Viljoen (Kobie), owner of Villion Family Wines, is a descendant of the first French Huguenot, Francois Villion, who settled in South Africa in 1671. From that time on, the Villion family (later changed to Viljoen in the Afrikaans language) made a living from farming the fertile lands of the Cape of Good Hope, with an emphasis on vineyards. Kobie Viljoen, with his twenty years of experience combined with detailed and focused winemaking, takes hand-selected fruit through the processes to capture the essential components of colour, flavour and texture in his wines. Environmentally friendly and traditional methods, including spontaneous fermentation and open fermentation, contribute to the authenticity of the wines.

Judicious maturation in French oak barriques and extended bottle maturation embodies the essence of the wines created. Kobie Viljoen was educated at the Elsenburg Agricultural College in Stellenbosch, Western Cape. He obtained a degree in Cellar Technology and was one of the top students in his class. Over the next 20 years he gained valuable experience in top South African cellars

Botriver is a district in the Walker Bay region, located between Elgin and Hermanus. It is the head of the valley and is known for its relatively cool climate, due to its proximity to the ocean. This produces wines with nice fresh acidity, including Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay. The weathered slate soils also contribute to the success of these cool climate wines.

Additional information: The “Old Vine Project” in South Africa is an initiative aimed at the preservation and promotion of old vines, particularly in the Cape region. These old vines are considered a valuable heritage of the South African wine industry because of their historical value and the quality of the grapes they produce. The project was founded by some of South Africa’s leading winemakers and wine enthusiasts, including winemaker Eben Sadie and Rosa Kruger, an authority on old vineyards in the country. The main goal of the Old Vine Project is to highlight the value of old vines and encourage winemakers to preserve and nurture them. Old vines tend to have deeper roots and produce grapes with more complex flavors, resulting in wines with more character and depth.