Although Creation is focused on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, we also produce two Chenin Blancs: the Cool-Climate Chenin Blanc and the Old-Vine Chenin Blanc to honour the history, development, and innovation in the South African wine industry of this heritage cultivar.
From distilling wine to fine wine, the voyage of Chenin in South Africa over the past 20 years has been remarkable. The first part of the transformation happened in the cellar, and now it is all about site and the discovery of site for consumers.
When we launched our maiden Creation Cool-Climate Chenin Blanc in 2017, it was the first cool-climate Chenin to be grown and made in the Hemel-en-Aarde, from the ‘Siberia’ vineyard planted in 2003. After joining the Old Vine Project in 2019, we added a second Chenin to the estate portfolio: the Creation Old-Vine Chenin Blanc, from a vineyard planted in the Swartland in 1984.
Old Vine wines are complex, contemplative, and gentle. They have personality, a story to tell in the vineyards and on the palate, a tale of time. They exist because of the people who touched and tended them over many years.
Our intention with these two wines is to show you two very different Chenin Blancs: one from the cool climate of the Hemel-en-Aarde, and one from the warmer climate of the Swartland.
Our 2023 Cool Climate Chenin Blanc is described as follows:
Sunshine at the Atlantic. Crispy quince and fresh green apple flirting with notes of tangy citrus. Thanks to cooler climatic conditions, this wine is crisper, fresher but also more complex than most SA Chenins. Hand-harvested, fermented 50% in concrete eggs and 50% in third-fill French oak barrels, left on gross lees for 10 months.
Our 2023 Creation Old-Vine Chenin is described as follows:
A wine with the charms of umpteen summers. Mellow gold and shimmering in your glass. Aromas of fragrant num-num blossom, honeycomb and warm hay, with wafts of sun-ripe apple following through on the palate where crisp acidity and fresh minerality lend tang and texture to a feast of stone-fruit, gooseberry and herbaceous flavours. A fine wine with rich complexity.
Our 2023 Cool-Climate Chenin Blanc and 2023 Old-Vine Chenin have just been released. If you would like to place an allocation order, please email Daniela@creationwines.com.
Old Vines within context of global happenings in 1984:
Apple aired the ‘1984’ Macintosh commercial
Richard Branson revitalised air travel
Astronauts made their first untethered flight in space, using jet backpacks
The first transatlantic balloon flight was completed
The space shuttle Discovery launched its maiden flight
Purple Rain by Prince landed with a splash
The Soviet Union boycotted the Summer Olympics
The movie Ghostbusters was a box-office hit
Hong Kong returned to China
Ronald Reagan walloped Walter Mondale as US president
Indira Gandhi was assassinated
‘Do they know it’s Christmas?’
Flashback to 2003 when the first Chenin was planted in the Hemel-en-Aarde
Completion of the Human Genome Project
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
Discovery of the oldest exoplanet
Launch of ESA’s SMART-1
President Bush signing the third-largest tax cut package in U.S. history
Formation of the Department of Homeland Security
Topping the Charts in 2003
OutKast Hey Ya!
50 Cent In Da Club
Black Eyed Peas Where is the Love?
Beyonce Crazy in Love