2014 Raats Original Chenin Blanc Stellenbosch 750 ml

92pt Raats Chenin Blanc in Stellenbosch: “nectarine-scented bouquet with just a touch of beeswax” — Wine Advocate

In the early 1980s, we made our first trip to the cellars and vineyards of the central Loire Valley. We were invited to dinner at Jean Bardet, just 10 minutes east of the beautiful city of Tours and, at the time, one of the most extraordinary restaurants in France.

While the wine list at Jean Bardet featured many Bordeaux First Growths and Burgundy Grand Crus, the spotlight shined brightest on the wines of the Loire. It would be at Bardet that we first tasted the brilliant Cabernet Franc of Olga Raffault and Charles Joguet — wines that were still fabulously youthful and vibrant a decade after bottling.

But far and away the most extraordinary discoveries of the evening were the Chenin Blancs of Noël Pinguet at Domaine Huet. A 1976 Vouvray “Le Mont” cut the fat, as it accentuated the richness of seared foie gras. We finished the meal with a bone-dry 1945. Golden in color, yet without any sign of oxidation, Huet’s Chenin Blanc was a subject of beeswax, bitter honey, and citronelle, a wine that would continue to age effortlessly for another 20 years! Our love affair with the apple, pear, and honey of world-class Chenin Blanc commenced at Jean Bardet and has never faded.

Unfortunately, as we’d learn over the years, outside of the tiny swath of land on both the north (Vouvray) and south (Montlouis) of the Loire, no other place on earth seemed capable of producing Chenin Blanc that was cut from the same cloth as Domaine Huet. That is, until a handful of brilliant and quite inventive growers in South Africa began giving the central Loire a run for its money.

While Vouvray’s soils are strewn with limestone, 7,800 miles away in the southern hemisphere, Bruwer and Jasper Raats’ vineyard sources in Stellenbosch are packed with sandstone and decomposed granite. But once you get past the geological differences, the similarities in the viticultural and winemaking methodologies practiced by the top cellars in Vouvray and one of the top producers in South Africa can’t be overlooked.

Drawn from deep-rooted, 35-year-old vines perched at nearly 1,000 feet in elevation, the 2014 Raats Original Chenin Blanc Stellenbosch is absolutely exquisite. In our N.Y.C. Vouvray/Montlouis tasting last week, it stood shoulder to shoulder with the top Chenins of the central Loire.

Brilliant pale-gold in color with gorgeous aromas of Golden Delicious apple, apricot, and bitter pineapple, tinged with zesty citrus. Rich, bright, crisp, and piercing on the attack, showing terrific purity and chiseled cut, filled with a juicy mix of ripe apple, pear, and lemon curd, finishing with plenty of tension and vibrancy. Drink now-2020.

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate went berserk, posting a 92-point rating, the highest of the 2014 vintage for an under-$15 white, with Huet-like descriptions of “very pure lemon curd and nectarine-scented bouquet with just a touch of beeswax.” Just 3,000 bottles made it stateside, HALF of which are earmarked for WineAccess at $14.50/bottle. Not to be missed by Vouvray lovers — or bargain-hunters looking for truly inspired whites under-$15.