Bellingham The Bernard Series Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2020

What do the words ‘old vine’ on a wine label mean to you? Were they put there by a marketing team who think consumers associate older with better when it comes to wine? Or do they convey a commitment to quality by the winemaking team?

Marketers know that few vineyard scenes are more alluring than those that depict old vines—with their thick and gnarly trunks, weathered with age. Old world producers have been labelling their bottles with ‘vieilles vignes’ or ‘vecchie viti’ for decades, encouraging consumers to conjure up romantic vineyard images in their minds’ eye.

But winemakers also know that their best wines are made from top-quality fruit grown on superior vines. Vines that produce excellent fruit while young will continue to produce fine fruit as they grow older, as long as they are lovingly tended. As these vines age, the flavours in their grapes will become deeper and more concentrated. But, over the years, the vines will also become less productive, making their wines increasingly more expensive to produce.

South Africa may be the only country with an association (the Old Vine Project or OVP) that actively encourages growers to protect the heritage of their old vines. Wines made with vines over 35 years old can be labelled as ‘old-vine’ and a seal can be placed on the back label to indicate when the vines were planted. The vines for this Bellingham The Bernard Series Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2020 were planted between 1971 and 1983.