2025 Secateurs Riviera, AA Badenhorst Family Wines

• Style: Skin-Contact White Blend
• Taste: Grippy, mineral-driven with grapefruit, quince and savoury spice
• Food: Shellfish, poultry, goat cheese, cured meats
• Occasion: Weeknight dinner, Sunday lunch
• Serve: Chilled, 8–10°C; screwcap

In the Glass — Tasting Notes

Golden-hued and textured, this skin-contact blend arrives grippy across the palate yet bright enough to cut through seafood and poultry alike. Taut and mineral-driven, grapefruit and quince lead a savoury, spice-tinged length that refuses to sit still. At 13% ABV with crisp acidity and just a whisper of residual sugar, it's made for the table rather than the glass alone.

The Winery — A.A. Badenhorst Family Wines

Adi Badenhorst epitomises the carefree spirit of the Swartland, bringing experience from Château Angélus and Rustenburg Estate to his family winery, founded in 2008 on Paardeberg's Kalmoesfontein farm. The 2025 vintage drew from 1972-planted vineyard blocks, their roots anchored in sandy decomposed granite, quartz and iron-rich koffieklip soils. Adi picked when fruit turned golden and tannins had ripened, then used carbonic maceration in concrete tanks to coax out every layer of character. His philosophy centres on minimal intervention and hands-on farming — no modern tricks needed, only time and attention to express the true character of the region.

At Your Table — Food Pairing & Serving

Pair this wine with seared scallops, herb-crusted chicken, goat cheese and salad, ceviche, brined fish, or anything where herbs and citrus play a role. The wine's structure — depth and freshness in equal measure, neither flabby nor austere — makes it equally at home on a weeknight or Sunday lunch table. Chill to 8–10°C and serve screwcap-sealed. If you've explored our broader Chenin Blanc selection, this skin-contact take sits alongside them as proof that South Africa's winemakers aren't repeating formulas — they're rewriting them. Discover what else the Swartland is producing.