£9.29
£12.39 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
Out of Stock
Ripe, honeyed Cape Chenin with real substance behind the friendly price. Baked apple and lifted citrus meet white peach and a clean, taut finish. Old, dry-farmed bush vines and a stint on fine lees give it weight most everyday whites can only dream of. Your new midweek white, sorted.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
We keep Cape Heights on the shelf because it does something rare at this price: it tastes like it means it. Wild-ferment character, old-vine concentration and proper lees weight are usually the language of wines twice the money. It's our go-to recommendation for anyone still unsure about South African Chenin, and a quiet workhorse for regulars building a midweek white rotation. Pour it blind alongside pricier Loire Chenins and watch guests hesitate. That's the whole point.
Baked apple and lemon zest lead the nose, with a whisper of honey suggesting the ripeness beneath. The palate delivers white peach and ripe stone fruit, cushioned by the creamy weight that comes from extended time on fine lees. Zippy citrus acidity keeps everything taut and fresh, so the finish lands clean rather than sticky. There's real concentration here for the money, a Chenin that drinks easily but rewards a bit of attention.
If you've been paying supermarket money for thin, forgettable whites, this is the wine that quietly changes your mind. Cape Heights Chenin Blanc is the sort of bottle you open on a Tuesday, expect nothing much from, and find yourself pouring a second glass before the pasta's off the hob. It comes from old vines rooted in sandy loams over granite, the classic Cape soil profile, farmed dry with no irrigation. Those gnarled old bush vines naturally hold back the yields, so the fruit arrives concentrated and full of character. Part of the blend goes through wild-yeast fermentation, with a tiny slice seeing time in old barrels, and the whole thing rests on fine lees to build texture. In the glass, expect classic baked apple and zippy citrus on the nose, ripe white peach and stone fruit on the palate, all pulled into shape by that taut Cape acidity. Boutinot, the merchant-producer behind it, first came to South Africa chasing their love of Chenin Blanc, and this bottle is a direct nod to the grape that started it all. Pour it with grilled fish, roast chicken and a big green salad, or turn things up with a Cape Malay curry or something bright and pan-Asian. It's honest, versatile, ridiculously good value, and it lands anywhere in the UK within a few working days. Buy a case: it won't sit around.
This is Chenin built for the table. Grilled sea bass with lemon, a roast chicken with new potatoes, or a bowl of prawns and rice noodles all work beautifully. Where it really sings, though, is against spice: a fragrant Cape Malay chicken curry, a Thai green curry, or a mango and chilli salad. The ripeness soaks up the heat, the acidity resets the palate.
No need to decant. If the bottle comes out very cold, give it ten minutes in the glass to open up: the baked apple and honey notes need a little warmth to show themselves.
Best enjoyed young and fresh, within two to three years of release, while the citrus lift and stone-fruit generosity are at their brightest. The concentration and taut acidity mean it will hold happily for another year or two if you'd rather let the honeyed notes deepen.
Sandy loams over granite bedrock: the classic Cape soil profile, and one of the reasons Chenin thrives here. The vines are dry-farmed with no irrigation, and their age naturally keeps yields low, so the fruit that does ripen arrives concentrated and expressive. Granite lends that mineral lift underneath the ripe stone fruit.
Part of the blend goes through wild-yeast fermentation, letting the native yeasts on the grapes set the tone rather than a cultured strain. A small portion sees time in old barrels, which adds texture without piling on oak flavour. The wine then rests on its fine lees for an extended stretch, and that's where the magic happens: weight builds on the palate, the mouthfeel turns creamy, and the crisp acidity gets something savoury to push against.
Le Domaine draws its fruit from vineyards scattered across the Western Cape, from coastal sites cooled by Atlantic breezes to warmer inland slopes, all planted between 50 and 300 metres above sea level. This broad sourcing is deliberate. By blending components from different microclimates, the cellar builds a consistent house style that balances the crisp acidity of cooler sites with the ripe generosity of warmer ones. It's the Western Cape's extraordinary diversity captured in a single glass.
Boutinot
Paul Boutinot spent years searching the world for a site that could make wine on his terms. He found it on the Schapenberg, a windswept ridge above Somerset West looking out over False Bay and the Atlantic. From day one Waterkloof was farmed organically, with biodynamic conversion following soon after. Cattle, sheep and goats roam the estate producing compost and grazing cover crops, and draught horses do the work tractors usually do, keeping the soil loose and alive. Cellarmaster Nadia Barnard, who joined at the very beginning and now runs the cellar, takes those naturally balanced grapes and gives them as little intervention as possible. It's farming as philosophy, and you can taste it.
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