Exciting new chenin blanc to try

Foreign Friends, the boutique, Beechworth-based label launched by Leila and Crystal Davis and Juliette Menneteau in 2023, has just released its first chenin blanc. 

“It's a variety that has always captivated me,” Leila says. “My mission is to make wines that show purity and expression of site and, for me, chenin is a great lens for this.”

She sources fruit from the Koombahla vineyard in the upper King Valley, planted by Guy Darling in 1970 and now managed by his granddaughters.

“Some of the greatest wines I've tried have been chenin,” Leila adds. “When Grace and Sophie Darling began talking about growing chenin again at their vineyard, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to learn from this variety and explore what it can do in this place.”

Foreign Friends' Crystal, Juliette and Leila. 

ChaLou has also released a brand-new chenin blanc, made from the Orange region’s first plantings of the variety. As has Martinborough’s Ata Rangi. The grape is also the focus for winemaker Steffi Snook, who produces three – including an off-dry version and a pèt-nat – under her Yayoi label and who dreams of one day owning her own chenin blanc vineyard in Victoria.

The Loire Valley export isn’t new to Australia, with the first vines, by way of South Africa, planted in WA’s Swan Valley in 1829. Although, up until relatively recently, it was mostly used in blends – particularly classic dry white blends such as Jack Mann’s iconic Houghton’s White Burgundy – and rarely used to produce varietal wines.

One of the first to do so was Nic Peterkin from L.A.S Vino, who began working with the grape in ’13, and is also behind Margaret River’s annual Chenin Blanc Symposium. Jack’s grandson Rob Mann was another early adopter, first producing a single-varietal chenin blanc under his Corymbia label in 2018. Dormilona, Vino Volta, Voyager Estate and LS Merchants are just a few more of the notable WA-based producers who’ve made headway with the variety over the past decade.

MMAD produces one of the country's top chenin blancs.

The producers outside of WA devoting attention to the grape include MMAD, Aphelion and Dune in McLaren Vale, Sigurd in the Barossa, and Vinden in the Hunter. In New Zealand, Gisborne-based Millton was historically the benchmark, although others – including Margrain in Martinborough, and the aforementioned Ata Rangi – are now catching up.

It's not hard to see the appeal. Versatile, expressive and food friendly, with interesting, waxy, lanolin-shaped phenolics and high acid, which means it can age remarkably well, be successfully grown in warmer climates without becoming flabby, and produce a range of styles, from crisp and dry, to rich and fuller-bodied, even sweet and sparkling.

Below, find a list of 13 expressions of chenin blanc from across Australia and NZ to try ahead of International Chenin Blanc Day on June 13.

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