It’s a blend of CheninBlanc, Roussanne, Viognier and Alvarinho (also called Albarino). There’s a touch of honeysuckle and stone fruit on the nose while the palate is generous and seamless without being overly rich or sweet tasting. Tonight’s dinner at home is roast chicken with peri peri spices and this wine has the perfect balance of freshness and weight to accompany this dish.
For those who enjoy a bit of winemaking geekery, here goes…
As I’ve learned more about my vineyards – the site, how the wine evolves over time, and how winemaking choices shape it – both our viticulture and winemaking have evolved too.
My aim has always been to use all the white grape varieties grown on the farm to create a true snapshot of the vintage and of this place.
At the same time, I’ve always wanted to make sure that the naturally aromatic varieties, especially Viognier and Roussanne, don’t dominate.
Elegance and freshness remain key. The first vintage of this wine was made in 2004. So, what have I learnt during 21 years of Fairhead?
I’ve found that fermenting and maturing in oak barrels, even older ones, adds texture and subtle oak notes, but in some vintages, that richness can be a bit much. In 2017, we began fermenting and matu
ring some batches in concrete tanks, and in 2021 we introduced terracotta vessels.
Both these materials allow gentle oxidation during maturation, building texture without adding the woody or vanilla tones that oak can bring. We’ve now settled on roughly one-third of each vessel type, resulting in a fresher, more refined expression of the wine.
There’s no long tradition of blending white grapes at Joostenberg to draw from. A century ago, Semillon (or Groendruif) dominated; after phylloxera, Chenin Blanc took its place. Today, with hundreds of white grape varieties in the world to choose from, we’ve planted small, carefully selected parcels to add nuance and character to this blend.
When Fairhead was first made in 2004, it was a simple blend of Viognier and Chenin Blanc. Over time we’ve added Roussanne, bringing beautiful honeysuckle aromas and ageability, and later Alvarinho for a touch of brightness and acidity.
We have also planted small Petit Manseng and Verdelho vineyards and these seem very promising. At this stage it seems as if they will make it into future Fairhead bottlings. Each new addition has deepened my understanding of how these varieties, and this place, come together in the glass.
