Catherine Marshall Chenin Blanc '23

Catherine Marshall is well recognized as one of South Africa’s top winemakers. She was way ahead of her time, starting to produce wine in 1997, with one of the first “garage” wineries in a wine scene that was dominated mainly by the national cooperative and the established Stellenbosch estates. She began her career as a solo winemaker in 2007, after apprenticing at cellars locally as well as internationally, in France, the US, and Australia, and she refocused her production and purchased land in the Elgin region of South Africa. Her detailed, hands-on, respectful approach in the vineyards and in the wine production process are evident in the unique character of all her wines.

Marshall produces a range of small production wines under her “Fine Arts Collection” series. Today we are featuring her special Chenin Blanc fermented in clay. Cathy sources Chenin Blanc from two places for this wine, the cool climate Kogelberg Biosphere in Elgin as well Bottelary Hills in Stellenbosch. The wine was fermented in clay amphorae with natural yeast, with 1500 liters being racked off to neutral oak barrel where it underwent malolactic. The wine in the clay amphorae never went through malo. After 11 months of aging the two vessels were blended, rested, then bottled. 

The resulting wine is complex and unique. It has some hints of oxidation from the wood aging, but it still offers primary fruit aromas and flavors of pear and fresh nectarines. The textures is medium weight and silky, which helps pair it with a wide range of foods. An outstanding, small-production Chenin Blanc from one of South Africa’s very best.