Chenin Blanc Is the Little Black Dress of the Wine World

Chenin Blanc might just be the most versatile wine grape on the planet. Produced around the globe, from its roots in France’s Loire Valley to South Africa, California and well beyond, it takes on a life of its own in each place it’s grown. 

The high-acid grape is best known for producing fresh, vibrant wines—especially when grown in cooler climates. But it’s also a shape-shifter made into a wide range of styles, including still, sparkling and pétillant forms, with levels of residual sugar that can range from dry and off-dry to voluptuously sweet.

“With Chenin Blanc, you can open an evening with a sparkling, move into a still wine for your main course and finish with an off-dry or sweet expression paired with toasted nuts or a cheese course,” says Reggie Solomon, Wine Enthusiast’s resident Loire Valley reviewer. “The possibilities really are numerous: Chenin Blanc is truly the khakis or little black dress of wine that is an adaptable and versatile pairing partner at any table.”

Although this diversity offers endless possibilities for pairings, it can also make it tricky to know what you’re buying. Take out the guesswork by following the list below.

From classic Vouvray and California old-vine expressions to new styles with a bit of fizz or funk, these are the best Chenin Blanc wines to buy right now.

Loire Valley

To many, Chenin Blanc’s ancestral home remains its high-water mark. “When you’re drinking Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley, you are drinking a unique expression of a grape that flows from the region’s chalky limestone soil,” says Solomon. “Chenin grown on limestone presents a freshness that you don’t find in other regions of the world.” 

This freshness lends critical balance, regardless of how the wine is vinified. Bone-dry, honey-sweet, sparkling, still: no matter the style, Loire Valley Chenin’s terroir and trademark acidity shine through.

Need a high-acid, light-bodied wine to match goat cheese or a rich cream sauce? Pick up a dry Chenin from Touraine or Savennières, which Solomon says, “reveal a characteristic minerality and delicate savoriness that elevates the taste.”

Looking for a nice bottle of bubbles to celebrate with? Sparkling Vouvray and Crémant de Loire have you covered with elegant effervescence.

Sweet wine for dessert? Solomon suggests a “seductive,” honeyed and botrytized expression from Coteaux du Layon or Quarts de Chaume.

Talk about breadth. “It’s astonishing that one grape variety can produce wines in so many styles,” Solomon says.

Wine Enthusiast recommends:

Famille Joly 2022 Clos de la Coulée de Serrant Chenin Blanc (Savennières)

Pineapple, papaya, caramel, orange marmalade and dried apricot open on the nose along with hints of ginger and almond. The biodynamically-farmed wine is rich and fulsome with dried-fruit flavors suggested on the nose along with peach stone fruit and orange zest. Savennières is a passion that Famille Joly captures in a bottle. Editor’s Choice. 97 Points — Reggie Solomon $160 Plum Market

Clau de Nell 2020 Chenin Blanc Chenin Blanc (Val de Loire)

Chenin Blanc was meant to be this good. Gold in color, this wine has an alluring nose of candied golden apple, quince, baked pear, honey and orange marmalade. Creamy in texture, this biodynamic wine is fulsome and curvaceous with a generous midpalate that salons in plump, rich fruit. Editor’s Choice. 95 Points — R.S. $130 My Wine Empire

Hauts Baigneux 2022 Clos Des Brancs – Monopole Chenin Blanc (Touraine)

This warm, characterful Chenin Blanc will make you smile. Perfumed aromas of ginger, baked apples, clove and nutmeg baking spice, almond skin and honey open on the nose. The palate revels in freshly baked brioche, cinnamon stick and pear that precedes the long finish. Editor’s Choice. 94 Points — R.S. $40 Perrine’s Wine Shop

Château Gaudrelle 2022 Clos Le Vigneau Chenin Blanc (Vouvray)

This is a dry, elegant Vouvray. Mineral driven and fresh on the nose, the wine has flirty aromas of yellow apple, dried lemon peel, bruised Anjou pear and bread dough. Somewhat-tangy fruit kicks off the palate immediately followed by wet stone and a limestone-dusted acidity that provides refreshing-yet-tempered lift on the finish. Pair with French fries, pork medallions and latkes. Editor’s Choice. 93 Points — R.S. $28 Timeless Wines

Domaine des Baumard 2019 Grand Cru Chenin Blanc (Quarts de Chaume)

Sweet wines are a rarity to be enjoyed amongst the few that understand the pleasure that are these wines. A heart of apricot, quince, orange marmalade and papaya and peach open on the nose that resolves on the palate as a creamy amalgam of delicious goodness. Time has softened the wine and given it a silky luxuriousness that draws you in to it. Pair with blue cheese or hard cheeses, and watch your table swoon. Editor’s Choice. 95 Points — R.S. $80 Wine.com

Domaine Philippe Delesvaux 2011 Passerillé Chenin Blanc (Coteaux du Layon Saint Aubin)

Amber in color, this aged, unfiltered, small-production Chenin Blanc has an aromatic nose of caramel, honey, ripe peach and baked apple. Dried apricot, white raisin and orange marmalade join on the palate and continue through to a long finish. This is a mature wine. Drink now–2030. Cellar Selection. 93 Points — R.S. $27 The Winery NYC

California 

Chenin Blanc is quietly enjoying a renaissance in California, especially along the Golden State’s Central Coast region. “Whereas there were just a handful of bottlings to try less than a decade ago, now there are dozens that come across my desk each year,” says Matt Kettman, Wine Enthusiast writer at Large who reviews wine from many parts of the Golden State. 

You might think that this growth in popularity is the result of Californian winemakers taking note of Loire Valley Chenin’s stylistic versatility, but, in the Central Coast, the dominant expression is “dry and tightly wound,” Kettman says. And “Unlike in France, there’s a telltale wooly note to many Chenin Blancs. The best ones exhibit a mineral drive of wet stone, typically paired with fresh and brisk white fruit flavors, like Asian pear, crisp apple and even jicama.”

However, California is huge with many different terroirs and climates—which means that ever-changing Chenin takes on a wide variety of expressions in the state depending on where and how it’s grown. “Chenin Blanc thrives in soils rich with Jurassic fossils, riverbed-enriched soils and limestone,” says Tonya Pitts, who also reviews California wines for Wine Enthusiast. These varying influences lead complex bottlings that, she adds, can span from “subtle softness to laser-focused minerality.”

Wine Enthusiast recommends:

Chappellet 2023 Signature Chenin Blanc (Napa Valley)

Mouthwatering with a silky texture, this wine delivers flavors of ripe stone fruits accompanied by accents of tropical fruits and pears, with a long line of refreshing minerality. The wine has tons of persistence, but is also full of flavor and depth. Attractive and delicious, it will do well with a meal. 94 Points — Elaine Chukan Brown $70 Yiannis Wine Shop

Dashe Cellars 2023 Concrete Cuvee Chenin Blanc (Clarksburg)

This wine is lush, bright, with aromas of peach, apple, white flowers, guava, pineapple, and orange blossom honey on the nose. The flavors on the palate are ripe cantaloupe, peaches, Meyer lemon zest, layers of mineral, creating mouth watering texture and a dry juicy finish. Pair with Grilled Sand Dabs. 94 Points — Tonya Pitts $20 Saratoga Wine

Rococo 2023 Vista Verde Vineyard Chenin Blanc (San Benito County)

Winemaker Natalie Darr Brown is on a Chenin Blanc mission, and this bottling is vintage leader. Pristine and bright aromas of citrus and melon are presented on the nose. Wrapped in a waxy grip, the palate is fresh and mouthfilling with flavors of lemon, white-fleshed melon and stone. Editor’s Choice. 94 Points — Matt Kettman $40 Willow Creek Wine Co.

Washington and Oregon 

Chenin Blanc’s presence in the Pacific Northwest may fly under the radar, but the region offers some incredibly compelling expressions. Like California, the Pacific Northwest boasts a range of climates, elevations and soil types. This makes it challenging to brush its profile with broad strokes.

“Both Oregon and Washington tend to feature aromas and flavors of orchard fruit and citrus,” says Wine Enthusiast Writer-at-Large Michael Alberty, who reviews wines from the region.

Yet, the textures of these bottlings diverge dramatically. “The Washington wines that I’ve had tend to be fleshier, with a round-in-the-mouth quality,” he says. “In general, the Oregon examples are leaner and taut, with crisp acidity and, if you’re lucky, traces of flinty minerality.”

Alberty points out that the Chenin Blancs he tends to get most excited about comes from high-elevation vineyards, typically ones that experience significant diurnal shifts: “Those wines are a big Golden Delicious apple and lemon zest combination with brilliant acidity,” he says.

Wine Enthusiast recommends:

Division-Villages 2023 L’ Isle Verte Chenin Blanc (Columbia Valley (WA))

These aromas of Golden Delicious apples and cinnamon are so rich, I felt like I had my nose hovering above a bowl of homemade applesauce. The palate is a citrus medley of lemon, orange and lime, along with a sweet herbal note that reminded me of lavender honey. There’s more than enough acidity to keep up with all. What a pleasure to drink. Editor’s Choice. 92 Points — Michael Alberty $27 Solano Cellars

Efeste 2023 Adrienne Chenin Blanc (Yakima Valley)

Rocky Balboa’s favorite wine enters the ring to aromas of melon, grilled lemons and fresh-picked yarrow. Gentle acidity and a creamy texture complement the wine’s lemon zest, Bosc pear, chamomile tea and smoky flint flavors. Try the Adrienne with your next batch of pan seared scallops. 91 Points — M.A. $35 Efeste

Ridgecrest 2023 Estate Chenin Blanc (Ribbon Ridge)

Orchards await as you sniff the mirabelle plum and pear aromas drifting up from this delightful glass of Chenin Blanc. Scents of ginger and homemade lavender soap hover in the background, whispering for attention. Lively acidity then spices up flavors like slices of passion fruit drizzled in lime juice, sprigs of fresh rosemary and juniper berries. Editor’s Choice. 93 Points — M.A. $36 Ridgecrest

Kiona 2022 Estate Bottled Ice Wine Chenin Blanc (Red Mountain)

This ice wine made my knees weak, and it wasn’t all because of the 152.4 g/L of residual sugar. Butterscotch and spearmint flavors explode from the glass, followed by puffs of mango and honeycomb. Yes, this is a sweet, rich nectar, with passion fruit and lemon gelato flavors. The key is the wine’s blazing acidity, which takes it to another level. Enjoy now until 2038. Cellar Selection. 95 Points — M.A. $42 Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant

South Africa 

Locally known as “Steen,” Chenin Blanc is the most widely planted grape in South Africa. In fact, as of 2024, South Africa was the world’s largest producer of Chenin, constituting over half of global production. That incredible volume has led to a large scope of Steen styles.

“This variety yields both approachable, unoaked whites, characterized by citrus notes and a crisp, light palate, and more complex expressions,” says Writer-at-Large Jesica Vargas, who reviews wines from the African nation. “The richer examples entice with vibrant flavors of ripe apricot, quince, pear and spice, complemented by a creamy texture, delivering both freshness and intensity.”

Vinification techniques vary between different regions and producers, yet there’s an ongoing dedication to refining vineyard practices and embracing terroir among South African winemakers, which, in Vargas’ words, “consistently enhances Chenin Blanc’s fresh, appealing profile.”

Wine Enthusiast recommends:

Sadie Family 2021 Mev. Kirsten Chenin Blanc (Stellenbosch)

Coming from old vines planted in 1905-1920, this Chenin is layered and structured. There is a rich bouquet of white flowers, dried fruit and spices on the nose. The textured palate shows depth, offering lime, ginger, apricot and chamomile flavors that extend the delightful finish. It’s vibrant and has a long life ahead. 94 Points — Jesica Vargas $230 Wainscott Main Wine & Spirits

Alheit 2021 Fire by night Chenin Blanc (Swartland)

Sweet and citrus aromas of quince, pear and lime shape the nose. Coming from old vines in Swartland, this is a fresh and delicate Chenin Blanc. The full-bodied palate features optimal acidity and notes of orange, lemon verbena and stone fruit that linger. 92 Points — J.V. $80 Wine.com

Luddite 2023 Chenin Blanc (Bot River)

Shaped by Bot River’s cool climate, this crisp Chenin Blanc has an interesting nose of golden apple, pear and salt. The wine’s savory palate displays notes of salty dried fruit, followed by layers of apple and quince that add complexity and depth. 92 Points — J.V. $78 Compline Wine Shop

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• Looking for more on Chenin Blanc? This six-bottle master class has everything you need to know.
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• Learn about seven versatile varietals that make worthy alternatives to Chardonnay—Chenin included.
• Or, if you’re looking for another white grape to explore, these 10 Chardonnays from Burgundy are exceptional.

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