Aslina Chenin Blanc 2024

Aslina Wines was founded by Ntsiki Biyela, one of the most important modern figures in South African wine and the country’s first Black female winemaker. Raised in rural KwaZulu Natal, Biyela originally had no connection to wine before earning a scholarship to study viticulture and oenology at Stellenbosch University. After years at Stellekaya and international harvest experience in places like Bordeaux and Tuscany, she launched Aslina in 2016, naming the project after her grandmother. The wines are deeply personal to her, often centered as much on emotion and cultural identity as technical precision.

Aslina Chenin Blanc 2024 is sourced from Western Cape vineyards selected for both freshness and texture, reflecting the grape’s long history in South Africa. While chenın blanc was once associated with high volume production in the country, producers like Biyela have helped reposition it as one of South Africa’s most expressive and versatile grapes. Her version leans toward richness and structure rather than the sharply reductive style common in some modern bottlings.

The winemaking emphasizes texture and gentle phenolic depth. Fermentation is carried out to preserve both freshness and mouthfeel, creating a wine that balances ripe fruit with a lightly savory edge. Rather than chasing overt oak influence or a purely crisp style, the wine is built around roundness, subtle tannin, and layered aromatics. Honeybush tea, a distinctly South African note often associated with the wine, becomes part of its signature profile.

The 2024 opens with pear, yellow apple, quince, and citrus layered alongside floral notes and that characteristic honeybush tea nuance. There is a soft waxy texture through the palate, balanced by enough acidity to keep the wine lifted and energetic. The finish carries a faint savory grip that makes it especially versatile with food, sitting stylistically somewhere between Loire inspired tension and the broader textured style that has become uniquely South African.