Lalela Wine Collective Heritage White Blend 2024 750mL

SOUTH AFRICA : WESTERN CAPE

SUSTAINABLE : Chenin Blanc, Semillon

MED-BODIED, GREEN APPLE, QUINCE, JASMINE, NEUTRAL OAK

The Chenin Blanc comes from a single-vineyard parcel in Breedekloof, a warm inland district known more for volume than distinction — except in older, well-farmed pockets like this one. The Semillon is the unusual part: it's sourced from the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, a cool coastal zone that built its reputation on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, where Semillon plantings are rare enough to be a genuine curiosity.

Lalela — Zulu for "come listen" — is the project of winemakers Wade Sander and Natasha Williams, two of South Africa's most closely watched young talents, working out of a shared facility in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley. Rather than farm their own vines, they source parcels across the Western Cape and build small runs around each site's character, with an explicit focus on the stories the industry's bigger names tend to skip.

The two varieties were vinified apart before blending: the Chenin whole-bunch pressed to stainless steel and settled overnight, the Semillon given a 10-day skin fermentation in open-top fermenters before pressing. Native yeast carried both ferments, and nine months in older French oak — no new wood — added texture without stacking on flavor. Just 3,370 bottles made it to release.

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