Another weekend on the horizon, and a row of great wines ready to greet your glass on both Friday and Saturday!
If bright racy expressions from McLaren Vale's sand-speckled Blewitt Springs sub-region sound like a tempting way to end your week, stop by the shop tomorrow (Friday 13th), as we present five warm weather drinkers from Dune! These whites and reds, each one showing distinctly forward new-world sensabilities, are of tremendous value and very much speak of their north-facing late ripening vineyards. Between 4 and 7pm, their Bonaire Rosé (made up from Carigan, Sangiovese and Shiraz), Tirari Blend(Negroamaro, Mataro and Touriga Nacional), Maspalomas (a unique blend of Grenache and Grenache Blanc), skinsy Ténéré Chenin Blanc, and Aïn Salah Cinsault will be all sitting on ice and ready to taste!
Saturday (14th) follows with a sweeping lineup that showcases the vast appeal and versatility of Chenin Blanc! First finding its home in the Loire Valley as far back as the 9th century, this diverse varietal has since found its footing on other shores - perhaps most notably South Africa in the Western Cape region, as well as a plethora of tremendous Australian expressions that have emerged in the past few decades. A wine that can at once inhabit dry crisp minerality, a more floral luscious off-dry personality, a complex fully-fledged sweetened surge, or an array of sparkling options, we have picked out ten choices that puts this flexability (and quite often winemaking ingenuity) into a palatable perspective. Loire, South Africa and Australia all make the cut, with some well-valued fan favourites mixed in with some recent additions that we can't wait to gauge your thoughts on!
Peruse below for notes, praise and individual specials behind each individual bottle - we hope you can join us on this enjoyable deep dive!
The Lineup -
'Ténéré' Chenin Blanc 2025 -
$25 on special this week ($28 RRP)
"Ténéré is about exploring different winemaking techniques to make a wine with texture, phenolics and flavour complexity. We use primarily Chenin Blanc from a neighbouring property in Blewitt Springs planted in 1950 and grown on sand. Once the fruit is picked, it is destemmed and straight to an open fermenter to complete its fermentation on skins. Aromas of peach skin, preserved lemons, brine and almond. The palate is defined by the waxy texture and fine chalky tannin. The palate has plenty of pears, lemon barley, saline and tonic like finish." - Winemaker Notes
'Bonaire' Rosé 2022 -
$25 on special this week ($28 RRP)
"Our Bonaire Rosé is made from Carignan, Sangiovese and Shiraz that we pick and press together. Approximately half is fermented in seasoned oak, ambient temp, wild ferment on full solids. The other portion is fermented in steel on light lees and at a cooler temp. Post-ferment the two portions are blended back together and mature in seasoned oak on light lees for 6 months prior to bottling. The style is bone dry but full of texture. Aromas of red cherry, sweet herbs and orange blossom, with tangerine, wild strawberry and spiced citrus on the palate." - Winemaker Notes
'Tirari' Red Blend 2024 -
$23 on special this week ($26 RRP)
// 40% Negroamaro, 30% Mataro and 30% Touriga Nacional
"Matured in seasoned French oak for six months. Savoury and spicy, with preserved black cherry, dried olive, black plum skin, panforte spicing, chinotto, star anise, umeboshi. Modest of weight, and from varieties that can be fulsome and gruff, this is elegant and food friendly, with a fine line of tannin and a fanning of cherry-scented fruitfulness marking the finish. This is also excellent chilled. Lovely." - 94 Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion
'Maspalomas' Grenache Blend 2025 -
$25 on special this week ($28 RRP)
"The Dune Maspalomas is a blend of Grenache Noir and Grenache Blanc. Yes that’s correct folks, red and white grapes together. These are hand-picked and co-fermented on skins. It’s like making a red wine but using red and white grapes. It is rosé? No, it's not a rosé, as rosé would typically be fermented as juice only rather than on the skins. So it’s more akin to a very light red wine, a beautiful floral rose nose, mid weight with lovely chalky tannins." - Winemaker Notes
'Aïn Salah' Cinsault 2022 -
$25 on special this week ($28 RRP)
"Cinsault is showing great promise in the vineyard for our conditions in McLaren Vale. It has shown to be a late-ripening variety with large berries and lighter skins. We are very excited by this wine which stylistically lies between a heavy rose and light red. Aromas and flavours waver between red fruits of raspberry, watermelon, pomegranate and ripe strawberry and complexing flavours of spiced citrus rind, blood orange, sweet herbs and lavender. The palate is rounded and full in the mouth with refreshing minerality. Low alcohol, soft acidity and low tannin makes this wine a perfect candidate for slightly chilled summer drinking." - Winemaker Notes
Mount Rozier Reserve 'The Beekeeper' Chenin Blanc 2022 -
$23 on special this week ($26 RRP)
"The grapes were hand harvested at optimum ripeness from old Swartland Chenin Blanc bush vines. The grapes where gently crushed with minimal skin contact before the juice was separated from the skins. The juice was cold settled for 72 hours before it was racked from its primary lees and a percentage of the light lees was added again for further complexity. The wine has a striking, pale lime colour. This complex and classy Chenin Blanc offers aromas of white blossoms, ripe tropical and yellow stone fruit. On the palate you can enjoy white peach, citrus, and pink lady apple, underpinned by a delightful flinty freshness and delicate citrus finish. The palate is intense and well rounded." - Winemaker Notes
Sigurd Chenin Blanc 2024 -
$35 on special this week ($40 RRP)
// Organic
"The fruit is from Stanley Flat in Clare Valley’s north, with vines over 65 years old. Maturation in foudre and Slavonian oak barrels for 16 months, before two months in tank. Ample old-world (for want of a better term) and old-school accents here with a beeswaxy, chalky, mineral theme. Honeycomb and creamed honey, quince, poached apple, struck match, flint, cider apple, straw, shiro miso. Fruit intense, the palate fully textural, yet savoury, a pedal on umami, a quietly silty grip and a briny kick to the tail. So much going on, and such an engaging wine." - 95 Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion
Domaine des Grandes Esperances Aurore Chenin Blanc 2021 -
$39 on special this week ($44 RRP)
"From a vineyard plot on flint clay, Aurore is 100% Chenin Blanc. Harvesting is carried out by hand at the start of October. The harvested grapes then undergo maceration on the skins for 12 hours to concentrate the aromas as much as possible. The fermentation and aging take place entirely in barrels (of which 1/3 are new) for 18 months. Pale gold in colour, Aurore opens with white fruit, white flower and coconut aromas. Smooth and full on the palate, underpinned by a lovely mineral tautness." - Winemaker Notes
Bois Mozé Crémant de Loire Brut NV -
$43 on special this week ($49 RRP)
// 100% Chenin Blanc (organic)
"Careful selection of healthy grapes through sorting, harvested in crates. Gentle pressing in a pneumatic press and juice selection before settling. First alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel tanks with temperature control between 16–17°C, followed by wine filtration. Bottling and secondary fermentation in the bottle, with a minimum of 12 months ageing on lees to develop aromatic complexity and fine bubbles." - Importer Note
"This smells like a freshly baked yogurt bread roll, honey sweet, seedy savoury, warm and comforting, slathered with lavender-scented lemon curd. Pretty luscious quince fruit, sculpted by lime and then all the cuts filled with cumin honey. Drowsy summer-bee buzz of bubbles. " - 16.5/20 Points, Tamlyn Currin, JancisRobinson.com
MMAD Blewitt Springs Chenin Blanc 2024 -
$43 on special this week ($49 RRP)
"The fourth release of this old-vine chenin, and it’s another exceptional one. Half crushed and half whole-bunch pressed fruit, with fermentation in concrete and large oak, then maturation in old puncheons. An orchard stroll, crossing the seasons, with fragrant blossoms as well as crisply ripe fruit. Fresh, waxy red apples and green pear, yellow and lemon-skinned citrus, along with poached apple, cumquat, hazelnut and preserved lemon characters. A thread of mineral tension is the insistent plot line, with winemaking aptly subservient. Chenin blanc has never lacked for potential in the Vale, but the standout examples have hardly been legion. Here’s one." - 96 Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion
Domaine des Sables Verts Saumur Blanc 2023 -
$43 on special this week ($49 RRP)
"Fermentation takes place in a combination of stainless steel tank and mostly used, or very lightly toasted, barrels. Four month elevage in a combo of tank and wood, and then assembled in January after harvest. Bottling takes place in early spring, with only a light filtration and very low addition of SO2. Juicy, white-fleshed fruits and freshness of verbena and white flowers. On the palate, the minerality and vivacity refresh with final notes of citrus fruits! Don't hesitate to decant. Aging potential 3-5 years." - Importer Notes
"Barrel-fermented and aged 12 months on lees, showing ripe pear, juicy lemon and flinty notes. Rounded mouthfeel yet bright, with well-integrated crisp acidity and intense minerality stretching into a long, focused finish." - 92 Points, Victoria Daskal, Decanter
Domaine Baumard 'Carte d'Or' Coteaux du Layon 2023 -
$49 on special this week ($56 RRP)
// Sweet wine, 92g/l residual sugar
"Coteaux du Layon are sweet white wines made from Chenin Blanc. The appellation covers 27 municipalities on both sides of the Layon. The most famous part is closest to the Loire. It includes in particular the commune of Rochefort sur Loire. The terroir is made up of sandstone shales. The vines are aged from 15 to 65 years. The Carte d’Or corresponds to a selection of grapes from old vines on the slopes of Layon. Fractional pneumatic pressing, direct in whole bunches. Fermented at low temperatures, long and controlled with ageing on fine lees for 8 months in stailess steel tank. 11.5% alc, 92.3g RS" - Winemaker Notes
"Beautiful, refined sweet wine to finish off any feast. Flavours of apples, pears and sour quince. A mineral backbone with a long, fresh finish. Ample material that lines the palate with delicacy, rich aromas of quince jam and baked apple, honeyed notes, the tension of the attack to the finish gives a perfect balance sugar / acidity to this sweet nectar." - Importer Notes
Marc Bredif Vouvray 2018 Museum Release -
$52 on special this week ($59 RRP)
"Grown on the lower slopes along the Loire Valley in Vouvray and Vernou-sur-Brenne, the grapes for the Marc Brédif Vouvray enjoy Northern/Southern exposure. The vineyards have soils of mainly chalk clay, with some parcels having flint clay soils. The vineyards are 25-30 years old on average. The grapes are hand picked with care to avoid any bruising. They then undergo pneumatic pressing. Only the juice that runs naturally from the grapes is used (i.e. not pressed juice), which is left to clarify for 18 to 24 hours. Temperature controlled fermentation. The wine is a brilliant pale gold. On the nose, there is a fine bouquet full aromas of white flowers and yellow fruit such as pears. One finds citrus notes such as grapefruit. The attack is gentle with a lovely vivacity where one finds agreeable notes of grapefruit on the lingering finish. It is a lovely wine, ripe and refreshing." - Winemaker Notes
Domaine Ogereau Savennieres 'La Saponaire' 2023 -
$75 on special this week ($85 RRP)
"Organic and biodynamic Chenin blanc from a blend of Les Murailles and l'Aiglerie (plots located between Savennières and La Possonnière along the Loire), and Les Mauriers. All southwest-facing, schist and aoelian sand soils. Matured for 11 months in underground tile-lined tanks, amphoras, and 400L barrels, spontaneous malolactic conversion. “La Saponaire” literally translates to “grass soap.” La Saponaire is Savennières’ emblematic plant and the origin for its name and inhabitants – the Saponarians. It thrives on the light, sandy and draining soils of Savennières." - Importer Notes
Wild blossoms, flower pollen, beeswax, fresh herbs, raw seeds and nuts. It’s a meadow! Lithe, understated juice, with underlying chalkiness, zing of grapefruit, and underripe orange. It’s gentle in its nature but it also has a strong ‘mineral’ drive and focus. What a ripper. Super nice Chenin. Super pretty." - 93 Points, Kasia Sobiesiak, The Wine Front (2021 vintage)
Thibaud Boudignon Anjou Blanc 2022 -
$87 on special this week ($99 RRP)
"The 2022 Anjou Blanc from Thibaud Boudignon reveals a perfumed, exotic bouquet with aromas of green mango, pineapple, pear and spices intertwined with a touch of toast. More depth and fleshier than the 2021, it’s medium-bodied, perfectly balanced with a seamless, layered texture and a delicately bitter finish." - 93 Points, Yohan Castaing, Robert Parker Wine Advocate
"The 2022 Anjou Blanc is very restrained, with a delicate perfume of chamomile, spearmint and nectarine. There's a round richness to the wine's mid-palate, but it feels oh-so quiet. It's not showy but restrained, elegant and fine-boned, which is quite the feat in this dry, warm year. Despite no malolactic, the acidity is relatively low analysis-wise, but you don't feel it; it remains finely poised." - 92 Points, Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
If you wish to purchase any of these wines, please use the links above
Otherwise, if you have any questions, please contact us on (07)32521117 or email sales@thewineemporium.com.au
// Special prices valid until Thursday the 19th of February