Marras Piekenierskloof Chenin Blanc

£14.69

£19.59 per litre · incl. 20% VAT

In Stock — Limited Availability

Here's a Chenin that punches well above its price. Grown on old dryland bush vines clinging to the Piekenierskloof mountain at 780 metres, it pairs orchard fruit and quince with a whisper of baking spice and a crisp, lingering finish. If you want to taste what makes Swartland Chenin so exciting, start here.

Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.

Region

Swartland, South Africa

Grape

Chenin Blanc

Drinking Window

Lovely and fresh on release; the natural acidity and concentration of old dryland bush-vine fruit give it the structure to drink well over the next 3-5 years, gaining a little texture and richness with short cellaring.

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Our Verdict

We're always on the hunt for the small Swartland labels doing exciting things, and Marras is exactly that find. What sold us was the balance: this has the ripe, generous fruit you expect from high-altitude bush vines, but it's reined in by a tense, mineral freshness that keeps every sip lively. It drinks beautifully now yet has the structure to gain richness over a few years in the cellar, which is rare at this price. Perfect for the curious drinker who wants to understand why South African Chenin has the wine world talking. We don't get much of it, so don't hang about.

Tasting Notes

Bright straw-gold in the glass, with a nose that opens on orchard fruit: ripe pear, crisp apple and a twist of quince, lifted by a gentle waft of baking spice. The palate follows that lead, fleshy stone and orchard fruit wrapped around a thread of cinnamon and clove warmth. What sets it apart is the texture, a fine, almost saline grip from those high-altitude dryland vines, before a long, crisp finish that keeps you reaching back for the glass.

About This Wine

You've found one of the Swartland's quietly brilliant little labels. Marras is a small operation led by a young winemaker who learned his craft under one of the Cape's most respected names and spent time in the Rhone before settling into South Africa's most experimental wine region. The result is Chenin Blanc made with a light touch and a clear point of view. The fruit comes from coveted bush vines perched at 780 metres on the Piekenierskloof mountain, hand-harvested overnight so the grapes arrive cool and fresh. Those old dryland vines, rooted in sandstone and granite with barely enough water to get by, dig deep and give the wine its concentration and nervy energy. In the glass it's bright straw-gold, with a complex nose of orchard fruits, apple, pear, a touch of stone fruit, lifted by a hint of spice. The palate carries that through with quince and sweet baking spice, then a crisp freshness that lingers long after the sip. There's real texture here, the kind that makes a glass hard to put down. Pour it with roast chicken and lemon, grilled white fish, or a wedge of mature Cheddar. It also makes a thoughtful gift for anyone who loves a serious white with a story behind it. Delivered to your door anywhere in the UK, usually within a few days.

Food Pairing

The crisp acidity and orchard-fruit weight make this a natural with roast chicken and lemony bread sauce, or a herb-stuffed pork loin. It cuts beautifully through a creamy fish pie and stands up to a mature Cheddar with quince paste. For something simpler, pour it alongside grilled prawns or a Thai green curry, where the spice notes echo the dish.

—Roast chicken with lemon and tarragon
—Herb-stuffed pork loin
—Creamy smoked haddock fish pie
—Mature Cheddar with quince paste
—Thai green prawn curry

Behind the Wine

Up on the Piekenierskloof plateau, vines work for a living. Days are warm and bright, but it is the cold mountain nights that matter most, locking acidity into the fruit while the sun builds ripeness and concentration. These are dryland bush vines, unirrigated and digging deep for what little water the sandstone holds. That struggle, year in and year out, gives a Chenin of remarkable freshness and depth, the kind of bright, well-balanced white the high Cape does so reliably well.

Ageing Potential

Lovely and fresh now, but no rush. The bright natural acidity and concentration of old dryland bush-vine fruit give it the backbone to develop over the next three to five years, gaining a little waxy texture and richer honeyed depth with short cellaring.

The Land

Everything traces back to that high plateau. The vines sit at roughly 780 metres on a thin layer of sandstone and granite, dryland and unirrigated, with only just enough water to ripen a crop. Big swings between hot days and cold nights preserve acidity and slow ripening, concentrating flavour in small berries. It is poor soil and hard conditions, and it shows up in the glass as freshness, fine texture and real depth.

The Winemaking

The approach here is gentle to the point of restraint. Grapes are picked by hand overnight, so the fruit arrives in the cellar cool and pristine, with none of the day's heat to blur the aromatics. From there it is a question of guiding rather than forcing: letting that orchard-fruit purity and natural acidity speak for themselves, holding the line on freshness so the wine finishes crisp and lingering rather than broad. The result is layered but precise, fruit-led, and built to gain a little texture over a few years.

The Swartland Region

Swartland, 'the black land' in Afrikaans, named for the renosterbos that darkens after rain, rolls out north of Cape Town across the hills around Malmesbury and Riebeek-Kasteel. It's hot, dry, and stubbornly characterful: a place of old bush vines, granite and koffieklip soils, and a community of growers who've made it the most quietly thrilling corner of South African wine. Concentration, freshness, and a wild streak you don't find elsewhere, that's Swartland in a glass.

About the Producer

Marras

Marras is the project of Martin Lamprecht, a young winemaker with a CV that punches above his years. He cut his teeth at Cederberg under David Nieuwoudt, then took a detour through the Rhone before setting up shop in the Swartland, the region where South Africa's most curious winemakers go to experiment. Martin sources from old parcels on the Paardeberg and the elevated slopes of Piekenierskloof, coaxing out site-specific character with minimal intervention. He describes his job as taking the grapes by the hand and guiding them where they want to go. It sounds modest, but the wines are anything but. Marras is small, sharp, and very much one to watch.

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