Savage, Never Been Asked to Dance, Chenin Blanc, South Africa 2020

The grapes for this wine come from two vineyards. The first is a vineyard with dry farmed bush vines on decomposed granite in Paarl. The Malgas component is made up of younger bush vines, in soils of river pebble on shale. Previous Savage white blends have often included small percentages of Clairette Blanche, so when this vineyard was grubbed up, the search for an old vine vineyard replacement led Duncan to this slightly disheveled 64-year-old Chenin Blanc vineyard in Paarl. The 2017 bottling sees a small addition of some Chenin Blanc from W.O. Malgas to augment the quantity but looks set to be pure W.O. Paarl fruit in future. Foot trodden and whole bunch fermented over 5 days with no malolactic fermentation.

Duncan Savage, previously the winemaker at Cape Point Vineyards, introduced his own label in 2011 with a goal to produce rock-solid, classic and elegant wines. Through his time at Cape Point, Duncan grew to understand maritime vineyards, which led him to source grapes for Savage wines from maritime and high altitude sites around the Western Cape. These small, hand-selected parcels receive a lot of love and attention throughout the growing season. Each vineyard's unique terroir contributes in its own special way to the blends. Savage wines are inspired by the great older reds from South Africa and abroad that have stood the test of time, and are made with gentle extraction, minimal intervention, and moderate alcohol.