Tasting Notes
From the winner of South Africa's New Generation Winemaker of the Year, Banele Vakele of Tembela wines! Rondavel Hills Chenin Blanc is delicious. The nose has melon and peach, with a hint of chalkiness and minerality that comes across on the palate as a nice streak of citrus. It's full but not too full, showing tension and restraint. It drinks so easily. We had it with chicken and courgettes and it could not have been a better match. In fact, it slipped down so easily that we reached for a second bottle. This will be excellent with so many dishes. But it's gorgeous to sip and have with nibbles. And it's only 12.5% alc!Old vine Chenin grown in the Swartland, produces this rich, texture and joyous wine that is bright and so nicely balanced too.
More Info
Banele grew up in Cape Town's largest township, Khayelitsha. He still lives there, looking after four younger siblings, after his mum died. He earned a scholarship to a Constantia high school and his classroom looked out over a vineyard, he sat there daydreaming about what life in wine would be like. He got a degree at Elsenberg Agricultural College and enrolled on the Cape Winemaker’s Guild Protégé programme, where he did stints in Burgundy, Oregon and Yarra Valley. The final stage was with Savage wines. Such was Duncan's fondness and respect for Banele as a person and winemaker, he was there for 7 year. Banele's wine, Tembela, is named after his mother, which means faith, hope and belief. Banele has chosen the name Rondavel Hills for his other wines, as it reminds him of the huts dotted around the rolling hills in the Eastern Cape where he was born.