Durbanville is generally and deservedly renowned for Sauvignon Blanc, a grape that thrives under cool climate conditions. While still fully embracing the advantages of location in two acclaimed Sauvignon Blanc wines, Groot Phesantekraal is now devoting most of its white wine attention to its two Chenin expressions.
“Some might call it swimming upstream,” says winemaker Richard Schroeder (32) in a reference to the largely Sauvignon Blanc neighbourhood, “but there are so many alluring qualities we have and continue to discover in cool-climate Chenin, we’ve now made it our primary white wine focus. And it all happened because of the amazingly positive attention our Chenins began to attract as part of the wider portfolio. That told us we were onto something we needed to look at more closely.”
Chenin is celebrated for its versatility, climate resilience and ability to flourish at the Cape across a spectrum of growing environments. “Because it does so well under often marginal growing conditions, perhaps there hasn’t been all that much motivation to explore its cooler side.
“Here, at Groot Phesantekraal, on the other hand, we were thrilled to discover a bounty of benefits for Chenin.” The vines grow in decomposed Malmesbury shale soils that provide both good water retention and drainage. The high clay content encourages deep root penetration, allowing the plants to take up the nutrients they need.
The soils are naturally enriched by the large cattle herd established on the farm.
“The combination of these soils with a cool, slow-ripening lead-up to the harvest, rewards us in many ways: generous aromatics, rich but vibrant concentration and balance of flavours at comparatively low alcohol levels, lively acid and elegant freshness but also depth.”
Some of the secret to what he calls “a weightless buoyancy matched by intensity” he ascribes to texture. “The cool growing conditions give us phenolic ripeness with firm skins and that brings a tactile complexity. In the mouth and on the palate, it comes across as crisp, supple freshness with an invigorating tension but also a satisfyingly layered taste.”
No palate fatigue then from these refined and vivacious wines.
Born and bred in Durbanville, Schroeder is not only intimately acquainted with the area but has also had the talent and luck to learn from such big-name Cape winemakers as Kevin Grant (Ataraxia) and Coenie Snyman (Rust & Vrede) under whom he worked before moving to Groote Phesantekraal.
He joined the estate ahead of the 2021 harvest and has been turning heads ever since. Accolades have included trophies earned at the 2025 Investec Trophy Wine Show (Syrah), the 2023 Investec Trophy Wine Show (Pinotage) and 2023 Michelangelo International Wine & Spirits Awards (the estate Chenin Blanc). He has also twice been nominated for the Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year title (2022 for his debut 2021 Syrah and 2023 his 2022 Marizanne Reserve Sauvignon Blanc).
An obvious allrounder, he is now applying even more of his nous, curiosity and ingenuity to the farm’s two Chenins. The flagship expression, the reserve Anna de Koning Chenin Blanc, is named after the early 18th century high-society beauty, who was born to a slave and then became owner of the farm from 1724 until her death in 1734.
For this wine, the estate’s Block 7 vineyard with both north/south and east/west facing rows, is picked several times during harvest, to deliver an array of flavour profiles. Fermented on the skins and then in a mix of concrete, terracotta amphorae and oak, it has a floral bouquet, says Schroeder, with a pleasing palate grip, a lemony, creamy acidity with ripe pear and spicy richness.
He calls the overall effect one of “ethereal density”. “I know that sounds like a contradiction, but you’ll recognise it as soon as you taste it,” and he says it has the structure to age well. “Something like Anna de Koning, whose story still resonates with us centuries later.”
Showing just how winningly versatile Chenin can be, the more widely available estate expression opens on a jasmine nose that leads onto a bright palate of tropical, stone fruit and citrus notes with a refreshingly flinty edge. “It’s a lovely, approachable, crowd-pleasing wine”.
The currently available 2023 Anna de Koning Chenin Blanc normally sells for R265 from the farm or online, while the 2024 estate Chenin retails at R110 per bottle. However, with #DrinkChenin Day planned for Saturday, 14 June, the farm is currently offering a 15% discount on its Chenin wines when purchasing at the farm or via the online shop.
Go to www.grootphesantekraal.co.za for more information about the farm, its revamped restaurant and more.