Why does a wine this good keep having to reintroduce itself?

On Chenin Blanc, and the art of not overthinking it.

There's a wine I keep ordering without a second thought, which, if you know me, is equal parts unusual and alarming. I overthink everything on a wine list. In fact I overthink everything, full stop.

But lately, every time I spot a Chenin Blanc on a by-the-glass list, I just can’t help myself. No deliberating. No scanning the rest of the list for something more interesting. No asking the sommelier what they'd recommend and then ignoring them anyway. Just: that one. Pure, exhilirating, uncharacteristic, decisiveness.

The interesting thing about Chenin is that it's never quite the same wine twice. It can show up bone dry and flinty, all chalk and tension. Or lush and waxy, practically honeyed. Loire Valley-cool or Margaret River-warm. This grape has the ability to deliver almost any white wine note under the sun. It’s a chameleon with no fixed personality, which is a long-winded way of saying it’s never a sure thing.

This should, by all logic, make it a risky order. But the Chenin is yet to do me wrong.

Last week at 10 William, impeccable. Did it soften the blow of having missed the Friday fish burger special after months spent pining after it? No comment. But then, 10 William doesn't know a bad wine (or a bad dessert).

The real test came a few days later. A pub around the corner. I won’t name names, but let’s just say there was a QR code on the table. This is somewhere I'd normally approach the wine list with the energy of someone defusing a bomb. And there it was again. Chenin Blanc. I felt what I can only describe as the visceral relief of arriving at a party where you know no one and spotting a friendly face. Again, delicious.

All this to say: see Chenin, try Chenin.

If you’re in Sydney — you’re in luck. Sommeliers here are actively championing it. The Dry Dock in Balmain, a pub that’s won Australia's Wine List of the Year two years running, has built an entire Chenin section worth making the trip for.

If you're in Europe, even easier. The Loire Valley has been making it since the 13th century, and it costs a fraction of what comparable whites from Burgundy will set you back.

The most curious part for me? Chenin keeps getting called the “next big thing” and then somehow remaining the insider's secret. It’s a wine that has been reintroducing itself for decades to people who should know better. How exhausting.

Surely it’s time we did something about it, no? See Chenin. Try Chenin. Report back.