Bot River Wines

It’s Day!

There are three Chenins worth celebrating at : Synonym, Era & Elodie.

Synonym: Chenin Blanc is synonymous with South African wine. Delicious and moreish, with fruit sourced from the Swartland and Bot River. Their two Landscape Series Chenins come with names that are a bit more personal - Era René is named after Bernhard’s mother, and is made with fruit from Gabriëlskloof. Elodie is named after his sister, made with old vine Chenin from four vineyards in the Swartland. Different soils, different stories, all three worth opening today.

Bot River is genuinely a good Chenin country, and we have producers who prove it: Beaumont’s Hope Marguerite, Luddite’s Chenin, Villion’s Henning, to name a few. If today’s the excuse you needed to explore what this corner of the Overberg does with the variety, we think that’s a perfectly good reason.

The harvest 2026 is in. The vineyards are now quiet, but the cellar isn’t.

This is where the real waiting begins — tanks settling, decisions being made, the vintage slowly finding its shape. Heavy rains made this one a challenge, but Peter-Allan, Anmar and the team are watching it closely and are feeling good about what’s coming.

More to follow as the cellar does its work.