2015 Blackwater The Underdog Chenin Blanc 750 ml

Taking 100 Chenin Blancs by Storm

This past week, we sat down to taste over 100 Chenin Blancs—Vouvrays and Savennieres from the Loire Valley, old-vine bottlings from South Africa, and examples from Napa that have 100-point winemakers fixated on putting their own mark on this incredibly versatile variety. Three hours later, one had distinguished itself from the rest.: This 2015 Blackwater “The Underdog” combines crisp, racy acidity with wonderful ripeness and a serious density, at a cost that was equally electrifying. Every member of our judging panel assumed it was a $30 bottle before the $15 price was revealed. But don’t just take it from us: Wine Spectator hailed its scintillating “notes of quince, melon and yellow apple” with a “bright, focused finish.” The incredible value here might suggest another name: The Overachiever.

The winemaker behind the 2015 Underdog and all the Blackwater wines is one of South Africa’s rising stars, Francois Haasbroek. Of course, given his non-interventionist approach in the cellar, and his commitment to letting some of the finest old-vine Chenin Blanc in the Western Cape tell its own story, Haasbroek would no doubt balk at such a label. But time spent pruning vines and manning crush pads all over the world—in places like California (Dry Creek Vineyards), Europe, and New Zealand—has endowed Haasbroek with a wealth of knowledge and a deft touch that is impossible to overlook.

Haasbroek’s record of respecting his vineyard partners and masterwork with their grapes has enabled him to source from the finest old vines — bushes, really — from the top slope of Bottelary Hills, where the fine-grained soil of the Renosterveld trace back to ancient shales and which still nourish an incredibly diverse ecosystem. The Western Cape’s sandstone and granitic soils and moderate rainfall are perfectly suited for the low-yielding Chenin Blanc Haasbroek selects, and then he preserves its freshness and purity with the use of stainless steel and concrete tanks for aging.