The Producer
The Zevenwacht Tin Mine White 2025 is the flagship white blend from Zevenwacht, a historic Stellenbosch estate high in the Polkadraai Hills, looking out over False Bay. The Tin Mine range sits at the top of the estate’s portfolio, and the white is its most layered expression: five grapes, each picked for what it adds to the whole. Winemaker Hagen Viljoen builds it for texture first, fruit second.
Vintage & Terroir
The fruit comes mainly from Zevenwacht’s own vineyards in the Polkadraai Hills ward: decomposed granite over clay subsoils, on south- and southwest-facing slopes between 200 and 350 metres. That aspect and elevation keep the grapes cool and the acidity bright. A portion of Chenin Blanc from the Banghoek Valley adds extra drive.
The 2025 blend is 45% Chenin Blanc, 24% Chardonnay, 16% Viognier, 8% Roussanne and 7% Sémillon. Compared with the 2024, Chardonnay and Viognier play a bigger role this year, with Sémillon stepping back. Expect a wine that leans a touch more towards stone fruit and floral lift.
In the Cellar
We like how simply this one is made. The grapes are whole-bunch pressed and the juice settled, then fermented in 500-litre French oak barrels, with 5% going into amphora. The wine then rests for ten months on its lees, with partial malolactic fermentation. The result: 13.4% alcohol, bone-dry at 2.9 g/l sugar, with the oak there for texture rather than flavour.
Tasting Notes
- Nose: Nectarine, ripe apricot and lime zest, with a floral perfume and a hint of oak spice.
- Palate: Fresh citrus up front, then a creamy, rounded mid-palate.
- Finish: Clean, long and mineral.
Food Pairing
Pour it with snoek or yellowtail off the braai, crayfish with garlic butter, or a Sunday roast chicken. It also holds its own with creamy pasta and soft cheeses. Order your case and keep the Tribe fed.
