If red isn’t your thing,  sweet whites won’t do it for you, and you’d rather be caught dead than caught drinking chardonnay, then perhaps chenin blanc is an ideal choice for your holiday table.  Crisp and medium bodied, chenin blanc channels flavors of minerality, apple, and quince from old world locations like France, where in places like South Africa it can exhibit tropical fruit and less minerality (being more fruit forward).  While it can be sweet, many dry examples like The Royal Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2013 can offer plenty of potential to act as good food partners, especially at Thanksgiving.

Sight: A pale gold in the core, working out to a watery, see-through edge

Smell:  Starfruit and underripe pineapple jump up with a hint of honeysuckle to lead the nose off.   Floral notes build throughout, pulling in violets, roses, and orange blossom.  A note of green apple joins in toward the end.

Sip:  The wine starts off bright with a medium weight, and nothing in the way of sweetness.  The flavors quickly start off floral, pulling in honeysuckle and violets, but mixes with lime and starfruit.  Theres a bit of pucker as it goes, and the floral flavors continue to build on one another, ignoring minor interjections from green pear or apple notes.

Savor:  The ending is slightly pithy, with notes of lemon, grass, flowers.  The ending is relatively short, and fades into a gentle floral flavor.

For The Royal Old Vine Chenin Blanc, striking the balance between powerful and subtle is a difficult act.  There’s a lot of flavor here, particularly from the floral notes and some compelling fruit flavors that bounce between stone fruit and tropical.  There’s a bit of trouble sorting everything out from the floral elements though,  which rise up early, and never quite settle down enough for the fruit to take lead.   That shouldn’t dissuade you from necessarily serving it at dinner, but it will limit The Royal Old Vine Chenin Blanc from being a fan favorite of those who like their wine a bit sweeter.   Turkey wise, the floral flavors might fight with some of the other items on the table, but the acidity and weight make it very promising for food.  Just be mindful that less adventurous guests may find The Royal Old Vine Chenin Blanc a little intense.

Verdict:  Bright, Floral, Citrus, Fruit Forward
Price: $10
South Africa
Want to pick up a bottle for Thanksgiving? Wine Library has The Royal Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2013 in stock