Luddite Chenin Blanc Niels Verburg 2019

Luddite Chenin, natural wine, rich, but taught, ripe stone fruit, honey, notes of Fynbos, a SA Chenin with a touch of the Central Loire on Schist soils about it. Niels Verburg makes fantastic natural wines, they defy the idea that SA wines cannot have freshness and richness together. Based in Bot River where the climate is hot and no irrigation is allowed, Niels works with challenging conditions and low yields to produce outstanding wines of texture, depth and style. There is no sulphur added during fermentation to allow the wine to develop its own unique style and aroma. After racking, it was aged in old barrels for a year. The 2014 is showing some fantastic development and richness. On a recent trip to SA, I also tasted the new 2018 which for me was a stunner and will hopefully be on its way in the near future! As usual with the best New World wines, they have a touch of the Old World about them, as with this delicious honeyed Chenin Blanc from Neils and Penny Verburg, two nicer wine makers you would not meet.

Niels Verburg founded Luddite wines in 1999 with the express intention of making world class Shiraz.

The grapes for this wine have been previously bought in from un-irrigated vineyards in the warmish regions of Malmesbury and Bottelary in Stellenbosch.. Niels has developed his production and his own vineyards in Bot River just South East of Elgin where he now grows Shiraz for the Luddite wine. Grapes for Shiraz are cooled overnight in a cold store, crushed and de-stalked the next day into open cement fermentation tanks. Allowed to cold macerate for three days the must ferments with natural yeast and then aged in barrels. His wines undergo light filtration to remove sediment but preserve character. The Chenin is sourced from his own vines at Bot River and has what Niels beleives is becoming its own unique style which represents Bot River Chenin. Niels owns other vines and buys fruit from other growers in SA to make his Secateur range but it is in Bot River where he is aiming for the stars and is starting to produce of amazing depth and complexity with drinkability in spades. It was a pleasure to meet Niels, a huge man with a very big smile and warmth. Wines often reflect the personality of the producer, and Luddite does that, the wines are big, powerful but also intelligent, very friendly and in no way prosaic, just like their creator.