Soutbosch | Salt of the Earth

With Albariño and Riesling ticked off in the Salt of the Earth project, the search was on to find the next grape that would ably show the kind of salty, mineral qualities that collaborators Ben Henshaw, Jamie Goode and Daniel Primack collectively enjoy. So, when Bernhard Bredell of Scions of Sinai told Ben about a dry-farmed old vineyard of Chenin Blanc bush vines right by False Bay, the stars seemed to align. The wine was made in his signature style for whites, with a short soak on skins that Bernhard feels encourages more savoury flavours in the wine, before fermenting and aging in neutral oak barrels. Soutbosch (meaning ‘salt bush’ in Afrikaans) is a zesty, racy Chenin that shimmers with salted lime zest, fresh quince, granny smith apples and grapefruit, tempered with a distinctly rocky, mineral finish in-keeping with the Salt of the Earth range.