2025 Swerwer - Tiernes Chenin Blanc Swartland (750ml)

Tiernes is the standout single vineyard bottling from Swerwer, the project of winemaker Jasper Wickens, who cut his teeth alongside Adi Badenhorst during the Swartland Revolution before starting his own label on the Waterval farm in the Paardeberg. The Tiernes vineyard was planted with old bush vine Chenin Blanc back in the early 1980s, rooted in deep, decomposed granite soils that give the wine its distinctive mineral backbone. Grapes are made with extended skin contact, a technique that adds texture and depth to what is already a serious expression of old vine Chenin.

In the glass, this wine typically shows a complex, layered nose combining white blossom, peach stone, green apple skin, and wet hay, often joined by fynbos and crushed granite notes that speak directly to its Paardeberg origins. On the palate, expect a taut, linear structure driven by vibrant acidity and a chalky, textural grip, with orchard fruit and citrus peel carrying through to a long, saline, mineral finish. It is a wine built more around precision and tension than overt fruitiness, rewarding contemplation as much as casual drinking.

While still youthful on release, Tiernes has genuine aging potential and can be cellared for a decade or more to gain further complexity.