2013 John Kosovich Chenin Blanc

I have written before that Coriole Chenin Blanc is an iconic Australian wine, and a flagship of Coriole in South Australia. That's strange in itself, because Chenin Blanc is a workhorse grape, selling in casks or a back-up blend with other varieties. But to discover Chenin Blanc through Coriole is to appreciate it – the Coriole Chenin never fails. Another lovely Chenin is the sherbety Voyager Estate. So to make a new discovery is a pleasant surprise. The 2013 John Kosovich Chenin Blanc smells of peas, buttered with rice in a chicken-stock risotto, with some spice and tomato jelly. As usual for Chenin, this is a very clear, pale lemon in colour – almost colourless. It makes a good, high-summer wine – not too much of anything in the heat. But it is the palate that's great, smooth and with good length. Like Pinot Blanc, it's a wine you could drink like water. It would be really good with salty slithers of fried whiting, a fish without strong flavour, but soft, and not bony. The wine would be overwhelmed with something like olives or even cheddar. The label is new to me. The principles of the label should be theoretically good: three black birds standing in an abstract topographic map-like image, all in black and white. But it is underwhelming, possibly too plain, which is never a fault with Chenin Blanc. But the information on the label says the Swan Valley does Chenin well, making it rich and complex. True.