Chenin blanc is proving to be a reliable source of some of the most exciting, cleverly made and best value whites in Western Australia, as we discovered in our recent tasting there. For a grape that was most often deployed into generic white blends like Houghton White Classic (long known as Houghton White Burgundy), chenin blanc has flown under the radar as a workhorse blending grape that adds reliable fruit and acidity on the west coast.

But times are changing and there’s a group of winemakers that have tuned into this grape’s potential to thrive in the mild, temperate climate of areas like Margaret River, Swan Valley and Great Southern regions.

In France’s Loire Valley where chenin blanc has a long and esteemed history, it has a concentrated and powerful style delivering wines from searingly dry through to unctuously sweet and everything in between. Famous Loire Valley wines like Vouvray traditionally command long cellaring and deliver freshness at 10 or 20 years of age, or even more.

Western Australia’s innovative take on chenin is creating dry, textural wines often with older plantings by newer labels like LS Merchants, Dormilona, Express Winemakers and Corymbia. Clever techniques like skin contact and solids in fermentation, as well as lees stirring and the use of alternative vessels like ceramic eggs and amphorae is delivering added complexity and appeal for some of these wines too.

Dylan Arvidson gets to work at LS Merchants.

There’s a stylistic freedom for making chenin that is in stark contrast to the very defined and established mainstream style of chardonnay that dominates Western Australia’s white wine offering. Chenin is also an alternative that offers newer producers the opportunity to source the best quality grapes at a more accessible price than chardonnay.

The robustness of chenin in the vineyard and the variety’s compatibility with Western Australia’s mild climate means a significant number of the best chenin blanc wines are coming from organically and biodynamically farmed vineyards too, another feather in the cap of this growing group of interesting, great value white wines.

– Nick Stock – Executive Editor

5 Great Western Australian chenin blanc wines

Corymbia Swan Valley Chenin Blanc 2019 – 93 points

Goon Tycoons Chenin Blanc Margaret River 2019 – 93 points

Express Winemakers Chenin Blanc Great Southern 2019 – 93 points

LS Merchants Chenin Blanc Margaret River 2019 – 93 points

Dormilona Chenin Blanc Margaret River 2019 – 92 points

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