Iona Red Blend
Ashbourne Pinotage 2018

Monday Movie Night

The Monday’s Child Chenin Blanc 2020 is a wine for all occasions, and as Mondays are the cheat day for TV meals, we paired it with a film that was as intense as the wine. It is virtually impossible to find a movie we both enjoy. I have an affinity with science fiction, and Georgio enjoys documentaries. Still, I needed something to reminisce about, like our visit to Orlando, Florida, in 2019 to spend quality time with my best friend. Maybe it was the blue wine label or the fact that one can never go wrong with a good Chenin Blanc that he indulged me in watching Avatar, again. 

The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is home to Avatar Flight of Passage, a thrilling once in a lifetime experience, and the Chenin went down deliciously as we recalled this day on our couch.

Monday’s Child Chenin Blanc 2020 is a wine made with minimal intervention. No fining or filtering was done.

The vineyard it is harvested from was planted in 1988 and produce grapes with heaps of character and terroir expression

Only in its second vintage, Monday’s child scored 92 in Winemag, 91 with Wine Wizard and received 4 ½ stars in Platters 

“Yes, please! What a wine! This is what Chenin Blanc should taste like. Do we have another bottle?” Georgio Meletiou

TIPS FOR MATCHMAKING THE MONDAY’S CHILD CHENIN BLANC WITH CHICKEN, CARAMELIZED LEMON AND DATES

  • You cannot go wrong with a classic roast chicken if you crave comfort food. Add a good Chenin Blanc, and the fresh acidity will take it to a different level.
  • Combine chicken that is a good source of tryptophan and vitamin B5 to lower your stress levels with the antioxidants in a glass of wine, and voila, you can bet on feeling fantastic!
  • Chicken meat is a flavour sponge. Remember to honour the wine first and foremost and note that Chenin Blanc has an affinity with coriander, rosemary and mint. Make your own butter, including your favourite spices and place little butter nuggets under the skin before roasting.
  • Citrus flavours always marry Chenin Blanc and chicken. Roasting thick lemon slices with the dish imparts a bitter tang that matches wonderfully with the texture of this wine. A rich gravy will do no harm.
  • It seems unusual pairing dates with a bone dry Chenin. The secret is matching textures, and Medjool dates are succulent with grainy skin. Hints of honey and cinnamon complement the wine, and the subtle sweetness balances the tart and salty flavours.
  • Chenin Blanc is super forgiving with food, but the style and temperature are essential. A dry style relieves the roast’s richness, and although you want to chill your Chenin, make sure it is not too cold that it suppresses subtle nuances in the wine.
  • Turn up the heat with some chillies if you like. The mouthcoating character of this wine will act as a buffer, and the wine has enough chutzpah not to be derailed by spicy flavours.
  • Onions add sweetness, and shallots are much milder if you want flavour but aren’t a fan of sharp onion flavours. A Chenin like this, however, welcomes the pungency of red onions.

Our Experience

I have followed Alexandra McFarlane’s career with keen interest. The first time I met this petite winemaker, she was drenched in grape juice, her shorts and hands stained red, her hair braided to the side, and her eyes flickering like that of a child at Christmas. Tiny she may be, but her heart and winemaking talent is enormous! So, as we entered the month of love, it was inevitable to ask the question: What sparked your passion for wine?

“I had a love for science from a young age and studied a science-based degree that included being involved with mother nature. My grandfather was a citrus grower in the Addo Valley. I believe the love for the land must come from him. I hope I can make him proud.”

There were also a few momentous moments in her life that ignited her relationship with wine, starting with the awe of how one could turn sweet grapes into an incredibly complex and delicious elixir!

“Going to the Barossa Valley and being amongst thriving vines planted around 1860 boggled my mind. The fact that a vine can stand for generations and produce a wine that is so unique deepened my love for what we do. Humans are mere custodians of their vines and their land. The soil was there long before we arrived and will be there long after we die. It is something to be protected and left in a better state than we found it. Wine and vines are pure magic.”

When you understand how wine is connected to the earth, tasting really becomes an adventure. If you are actively making wine, it becomes a lifestyle.

“The relationships we form are raw and honest – that keeps my passion going. A little fire burns inside all of us. When we connect over a shared love for wine, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from; the wine ignites something special.”

The wine world she created took Alex to Australia. She worked at the Voyager Estate in Margaret River valley, harvested at Kalleske and pruned at Henschke in the Barossa Valley. In South Africa, she worked at Mulderbosch, Spier, De Toren (as viticulturist) and Druk My Niet before taking on her own venture.

“I still feel like I am learning exponentially and going down this road was a huge decision. COVID didn’t help us, but the allure of independence and control over all facets of a wine business was just too inviting.”

The versatility of Chenin Blanc just made sense to her.

“Chenin is such an important variety in our country. It shaped our wine industry, and it is incredibly expressive. I hope to pay homage to a variety that has carried the industry on its shoulders and is making us so proud in the international market.”

Little comes close to the wholesome experience of an oven-roasted free-range chicken with Chenin Blanc in your glass. Alex shared one of her go-to recipes from Alison Roman, a one-pot wonder with chicken, caramelized lemon and dates, and we used this as inspiration to cook something similar. And what a delight it was!

When the wine is too cold, it holds back definitive Chenin Blanc characteristics, teasing you with delicate floral aromas of deciduous fruit orchards in bloom with subtle citrus nuances of lemon zest and nartjie. However, these wispy aromas are a prelude for what’s to come, and as the wine warms up, it shares intense notes of preserved lemon, lemon curd, green pineapple, and lemon meringue with an earthy tone of bay leaf and sun-baked granite. I love it when the wine generously bestows this wow-moment with the first sip – completely embracing your palate with its bright fruit purity, arresting your senses with depth, texture, and length. This wine is a chameleon at the dinner table; it will take on the colour of any food mood.

GIVEAWAY!!!

With only 1400 bottles made; you want to be in it to win it. Alexandra is giving away a mixed case of wine to celebrate the month of love with a voucher to go and taste in Hemel en Aarde with a cellar tour and a cheese platter. Share anything you learned from this article on our FB page @MARRIEDTWOWINE to stand a chance to win. For more info, contact Alexandra on Alexandra@mcfarlanewines.com.

See it for yourself

Gallery of our experience.
All images copyright Samarie Smith and/or the featured estate.

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