Eyebrows flew off the Richter scale last month when life insurance giant Old Mutual announced that the top scoring Chenin Blanc at their annual wine competition was also one of the cheapests entries – the Secret Cellar No. 235 2015, an exclusive brand to Ultra Liquors. Although there was a fair bit of confusion when it turned out there was more than one bottling of the wine with the same label and the second version was quite different to the one which won the trophy.

This was not the end of the confusion as another Chenin, made exclusively for Frogitt and Vonkel Wine Merchants, won gold but was disqualified as it was not available through Makro, one of the partners in the competition. Hoe werk dit? was the stunned response in the cellar.

Which teaches us two lessons: you don’t need to spend big bucks to get a decent Chenin – in fact often the exact opposite with the cheapest wines the top performers in blind tastings. Which comes as bad news to that optimistic Stellenbosch brand trying to sell a Chenin for R1000 a bottle.

The second lesson is that when supermarket chains bottle their own Chenins, the cultivar is indisputedly mainstream and nothing to be ashamed of.

Chenin Blanc is the workhorse of SA wine. It is the most widely planted cultivar in the Cape and makes not only fine and toothsome wines as single cultivars and white blends but also some of the best brandies. This one from Kleine Zalze in Stellenbosch is made by Alastair Rimmer who used to make the wines at Darling Cellars on the West Coast, the appellation of our first regional tasting taking place at the Cape Town Club in Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town. A Victorian gem paid for by Cecil John Rhodes who has been getting a lot of bad press of late.

So how sweet to have our funky black sommelier panel taste Darling wines in the belly of the beast. How times have changed – for the better.

Kleine Zalze is no stranger to competition medals and is one of the most lauded brands in the winelands. This wine is a benchmark Chenin: fresh citrus fruits with peaches and apricots, it is an ideal accompaniment to roast chicken or in fact any classic boerekos dish like bobotie or roast lamb recipes which substitute dried fruit for vegetables. A tradition learnt in the Karoo where frequent droughts often did for veggies.

It is also a great aperitif. The kind of tipple for sipping by the pool or on the stoep – watching the super yachts moored at the Waterfront if you’re lucky enough to stay at the Cape Grace. For this is a bottle for billionaires (who love a good deal) and boytjies alike. A true South African triumph and liquid proof that SA makes the best Chenin Blanc in the world.