Chenin Blanc

Chenin has been grown around the town of Angers on the Loire for centuries, perhaps for more than a millennium, and has been cultivated in the Loire Valley since at least the 9th century. The first reference to the grape dates to 845, under the name "plant d'Anjou", in a text written by Charles le Chauve. The Renaissance writer François Rabelais (1494 to 1553) mentions the variety both as Chenin and by its common Loire synonym Pineau, and other local synonyms were Anjou, Plant d'Anjou, Gros Pineau, Pineau d'Anjou and Pineau de la Loire. The name most likely comes from the monastery of Montchenin, from where the vine was propagated across the Touraine region before returning to Anjou under its new name. A white grape known as Plant d'Anjou was first planted between 1520 and 1535 at a site known as Mont Chenin in the Loire. In South Africa, Chenin Blanc is believed to be amongst the first vine cuttings that arrived in 1655, during the time of Governor Jan van Riebeeck. It was initially identified there as Steen and later determined to be Chenin Blanc from the Loire; Steen was also misidentified as a Palomino mutation.

• 845: first reference to the grape, as 'plant d'Anjou'
• 1520 to 1535: a white grape known as Plant d'Anjou first planted at Mont Chenin in the Loire
• 1655: believed to be amongst the first vine cuttings to arrive in South Africa
• Synonyms: Pineau and Pineau de la Loire in the Loire, Steen in South Africa

VIVC records Chenin Blanc under variety number 2527, with CHENIN BLANC as its prime name. The country of origin of the variety is France. One parent of Chenin Blanc is Savagnin, listed in VIVC under the prime name Savagnin Blanc (variety number 17636). This pedigree is confirmed by markers. In the pedigree of Chenin Blanc, the second parent is recorded as unknown.

• Country of origin: France
• Parent: Savagnin (VIVC prime name Savagnin Blanc)
• Second parent: unknown

Chenin Blanc has naturally high acid levels, which make it suitable for late harvesting, and its high level of acidity means that it has excellent ageing potential. It is a non-aromatic grape whose flavours depend on when it is picked. In the cool climate of Touraine in the Loire Valley, Chenin Blanc tasting notes include citrus and straw, plus high acidity and chalky minerality. Anjou has a relatively warm, dry climate compared to Touraine, and its wines are often medium to full-bodied. South African winemakers prize Chenin for its ability to retain high levels of acidity in a warm climate, and wines from old bush vines can have more concentrated flavours, a fuller texture and pronounced aromas of pineapple and mango. Many South African Chenin Blanc wines fall within the 12 to 14.5% alcohol by volume bracket.

Chenin is grown across the world but is primarily planted in the Loire Valley and South Africa. In the Loire, Vouvray AOC permits only Chenin Blanc and produces dry, off-dry, medium, sweet and sparkling wines, typically unoaked. Within Anjou, Savennières is noted for dry Chenin Blanc, while the Coteaux du Layon is famous for sweet wines, including the botrytised wines of Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume. Jasnières and Anjou are names found on bottles of serious dry Chenin Blanc, and Savennières whites can take a decade to be approachable. Beyond France and South Africa, older vines remain in California's Clarksburg and Sierra Foothills, with small plantings in Western and South Australia, and Argentina and New Zealand are emerging players. One critic calls The Millton Vineyard virtually a lone outpost of Chenin Blanc veneration in New Zealand, and Can Rafols dels Caus its counterpart in Spain's Penedès.

• Loire: Vouvray (Chenin Blanc only), Savennières (dry), Coteaux du Layon, Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume (sweet and botrytised), Jasnières and Anjou (dry)
• South Africa: the most planted grape in the country, with 16,192 hectares in 2023
• California: older vines in Clarksburg and the Sierra Foothills
• Australia, Argentina and New Zealand: smaller plantings and emerging players

In 2023 South Africa had 16,192 hectares of Chenin Blanc under vine, making it the most planted grape in the country, and South Africa is the largest producer of Chenin Blanc, accounting for more than half the global production. Chenin Blanc accounts for almost one vine in five in South Africa, where the grape is known locally as Steen. More than half of the old vines in South Africa are Chenin Blanc, with 7,366,894 individual old Chenin Blanc vines comprising 2,475 hectares, and the oldest Chenin Blanc vineyard block in South Africa was planted in 1942. Chenin Blanc is South Africa's second largest export cultivar: in 2023 South African wineries exported 45.9 million litres worth R1.2 billion. It is also used in South Africa in the production of brandy, as well as blended and single varietal wines. For a long time the variety was used for cheap wine in South Africa, but in the last decade of the 20th century a renewed interest in the country's stock of old vines, which prompted the creation of the Certified Heritage Vineyards programme, along with a community of young, quality-minded producers, changed its standing. It is now regarded as one of South Africa's flagship grapes, with a growing reputation for quality. One critic credits Ken Forrester as key to starting a Chenin revival, with DeMorgenzon an early adopter; the Mullineux bottle various Chenins grown on different soil types, and David & Nadia specialise in single-vineyard bottlings. AA Badenhorst, Eben Sadie and Mick and Jeanine Craven are among the producers focusing on fruit from bush-trained plots and experimenting with skin maceration and fermentation and ageing in different vessels.

• 16,192 hectares in 2023, the most planted grape in South Africa
• South Africa accounts for more than half the global production of Chenin Blanc
• Old vines: 7,366,894 individual old Chenin Blanc vines comprising 2,475 hectares; more than half of South Africa's old vines are Chenin Blanc
• Exports: 45.9 million litres in 2023, worth R1.2 billion, the country's second largest export cultivar
• Producers: Ken Forrester, DeMorgenzon, Mullineux, David & Nadia, Sadie Family, AA Badenhorst, and Mick and Jeanine Craven

Chenin Blanc often has flavours of green apple and lemon if picked early, a common characteristic of Chenin from Vouvray AOC, while riper grapes can offer stone fruit and tropical fruit such as peach, pineapple and mango, common in South African Chenin Blanc; oak can add smoke and vanilla. Dry styles are often crisp, with lemon, grapefruit, fresh apple and potentially stone fruits, and can have a steely, smoky character; off-dry styles such as Vouvray Demi-Sec are more rounded, with stone fruit and a floral character. Sweet, botrytised wines often have powerful apricot and lemon peel flavours and, with age, develop aromas of honey and toast. Other Chenin flavours include flowers, damp straw and honey, along with a floral aroma and apple and pear-like flavour. South African Chenin Blanc's flavour profile includes pear, yellow apple, quince, peach, guava and passionfruit. With time, the fruit softens and integrates with tertiary notes of nuts, spices, beeswax, honey and dried fruits.

• Early-picked and dry: green apple, lemon, grapefruit, fresh apple; can be steely or smoky
• Riper and South African: peach, pineapple, mango; pear, yellow apple, quince, peach, guava, passionfruit
• Botrytised sweet: apricot and lemon peel, developing honey and toast with age
• Aged: nuts, spices, beeswax, honey and dried fruits

It is common for Chenin grapes to reach different levels of ripeness, even within the same bunch, so vignerons need to exclude unripe grapes at harvest to avoid green, herbaceous aromas. Both oaked and unoaked styles are produced. Oak ageing adds texture, spice and richness, with notes of toast and vanilla; lees ageing enhances creaminess and complexity; malolactic fermentation can soften acidity and introduce buttery notes. The Loire's sweet Chenins are made very similarly to fine German white wines, with low, slow fermentations in large old oak or stainless steel and no malolactic fermentation. Chenin's naturally high acidity makes it a particularly suitable base for sparkling wine, and Chenin Blanc is usually the base of Saumur's sparkling wines, increasingly labelled Crémant de Loire. Crémant de Loire is the regional appellation for sparkling wines from Anjou, Saumur and Touraine, some made from 100% Chenin Blanc, and the vast majority of sparkling Vouvray is made solely from Chenin Blanc.

• Harvest: uneven ripeness, even within a bunch, means unripe grapes must be excluded
• Winery choices: oak ageing, lees ageing and malolactic fermentation each shape the style
• Loire sweet wines: low, slow fermentations in large old oak or stainless steel, no malolactic fermentation
• Sparkling: Crémant de Loire, sparkling Saumur and sparkling Vouvray

In Montlouis, one critic credits Jacky Blot and others with showing how complex oak-aged dry Loire Chenin can be. In Savennières, the estate presents the Coulée de Serrant vineyard as a controlled appellation of only 7 hectares exclusively owned by the Joly family, planted in 1130 by Cistercian monks and cultivated using biodynamic farming methods since 1984; the estate holds that Chenin, along with Riesling, can only fully express itself through a fairly advanced maturity that contains some noble rot. Domaine des Baumard, whose site carries the line "Depuis 1634", lists Savennières, Coteaux du Layon and Quarts de Chaume among its appellations. In South Africa, Chenin producers include Ken Forrester, DeMorgenzon, the Mullineux, David & Nadia and Sadie Family. The FMC from Ken Forrester Wines in Stellenbosch features on one list of Chenin Blanc wines to try.

• Coulée de Serrant (Savennières): 7-hectare controlled appellation owned by the Joly family, planted in 1130, biodynamic since 1984
• Domaine des Baumard: Savennières, Coteaux du Layon and Quarts de Chaume among its appellations
• Jacky Blot (Montlouis): complex oak-aged dry Chenin
• South Africa: Ken Forrester, DeMorgenzon, Mullineux, David & Nadia, Sadie Family

Jancis Robinson placed Chenin Blanc in the Classic category of her 1986 book Vines, Grapes and Wines, and in her view dry Chenin Blanc has since shown itself to be one of the world's great whites, both in the Loire and, especially, in South Africa. The Loire is now a stronghold of low-intervention wine, and in warming summers Chenin's acidity is increasingly recognised as an attribute. Sweet Chenin from the Coteaux du Layon and Quarts de Chaume can often age gracefully for 50 years or more, and Chenin Blanc wines are able to be aged for over a decade.

• Style range: dry, off-dry, sweet and sparkling
• Acidity in warming summers: increasingly recognised as an attribute
• Ageing: sweet Loire Chenin can often age gracefully for 50 years or more

https://www.vivc.de/index.php?r=passport%2Fview&id=2527 https://www.wsetglobal.com/knowledge-centre/blog/2025/exploring-chenin-blanc-styles https://www.wosa.co.za/wosadocs/62024/Chenin%20Blanc%202024%20(1).pdf https://www.vinsdeloire.fr/en/grape-varieties/chenin-blanc https://www.coulee-de-serrant.com/en/ https://coulee-de-serrant.com/en/chenin-with-noble-rot/ https://www.baumard.fr WSET, Understanding Wines: Explaining Style and Quality (Level 3), 2016, ISBN 978 1 905819 39 3, p. 96 https://winefolly.com/grape-varieties/chenin-blanc/ Last verified 2026-10-04