Old Vine Chenin Blanc

Fried Patagonian Calamari with lemon butter and fragrant rice

Warwick Estate lies in a valley enclosed by the Simonsberg Kanonkop and Klapmutskop. Originally part of a vast piece of land known as Good Success this eighteenth century farm belonged to Colonel Alexander Gordon who renamed his portion in honour of the Warwickshire regiment which he commanded during the Boer War. Years later in 1964 Stan Ratcliffe bought Warwick where with considerable foresight he began planting the precious Cabernet Sauvignon vines which are still a major part of the production today. These vines produced high quality grapes and became highly sought after by wholesalers and other wineries. However it took the arrival of Norma Ratcliffe Stan's beautiful and energetic wife in 1971 for the family to begin making a few experimental wines from Cabernet Sauvignon. The early results were very encouraging and served to extol the virtues of what is surely some of the best terroir in South Africa. Michael Ratcliffe Norma's son has now taken over as proprietor in Stan's retirement and has wasted no time in stamping his personality on the Estate. A host of new innovative techniques learnt during his postgraduate wine studies in Australia are being implemented aimed at maximizing the potential of the Warwick terroir. Under Michael's leadership the Warwick team is striving to take the next step in quality.

Grapes were hand-harvested in the early morning from a single Chenin Blanc vineyard planted in 1978 on the lower slopes of our Simonsberg property. These old, low-yielding bush vines – planted on decomposed granite soils with a clay base - have stood the test of time and produce a small crop of highly concentrated fruit.

After fermentation, the barrels are rolled once a month for nine months before blending and bottling in January 2024.

On arrival in the cellar, the grapes were whole bunch pressed, and the juice was allowed to clarify naturally. Spontaneous fermentation took place in 400L French oak barrels, 6% new and the balance in neutral oak barrels.