Brookdale Estate has announced its membership of the Old Vine Project (OVP), with a certified block of trellised Chenin Blanc dating back some 36 years. It is one of few certified old Chenin vines in the Drakenstein region, and it is this block that produces the estate’s flagship wine, the Brookdale Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc.
When Tim Rudd first acquired the land of Brookdale in 2015, it was overgrown and underused. As Rudd and his team began to clear the land, plant new vines and establish 3700 indigenous trees and shrubs, they came across this single block of Chenin Blanc, which had been quietly thriving on one of the slopes of Brookdale Estate.
Today the Brookdale Single Vineyard Chenin Blanc is recognised as a triumphant display of Paarl’s terroir and its wine producing status of ‘complexity and balance’. It stands proudly as a wine of outstanding character, especially for a marriage with food on the palate. The wine is said to rival the classic white wines of Burgundy as a wine with ‘exquisite detail and a nuanced balance and precise equilibrium’, displaying a bold, impactful flavour profile.
The 2019 Brookdale Chenin Blanc scored 93 points from both Greg Sherwood MW and Tim Atkin MW and received a 17.5 out of 20 score from Jancis Robinson MW. The 2020 vintage is due for release this month (April 2022).
In South Africa The Old Vine Project was launched in 2016 to certify and promote heritage vineyards in the region. Members of this regulatory authority can be identified through the heritage seal on bottles of wine from vineyards 35 years or older within South Africa.
Rosa Kruger of The Old Vine Project says: ‘We believe that older vines bring another dimension, a new character that tells a story of our land, our culture and our history. The OVP wants to focus the minds of winegrowers, winemakers and all wine drinkers on the benefits that come with age in vines. We want to create a culture of caring for vines at all ages, from young to old.’
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