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Standard Bank and the Chenin Blanc Association have announced the winners of the 2026 Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge, and this year there’s good news for wine lovers who like their award-winners without a price tag nudging four figures.
While the most expensive wine last year – the excellent FMC 2024 from Ken Forrester – clocked in at R925 off the shelf, this year you won’t have to spend more than R550 to get your hands on the good stuff.
In this year’s Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge, 150 entries were submitted by 97 producers across 36 Wine of Origin classifications. After three days of blind judging, just 10 made the final cut.
And old vines certainly had their moment. Six of the winners come from certified heritage vineyards aged 35 years or older, while the final line-up stretches from Bot River and the Swartland to Breedekloof, Durbanville, Wellington, Stellenbosch and Paarl.
The 2026 winners, in alphabetical order, are:
- Beaumont Family Wines Hope Marguerite 2025
- City on a Hill Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2024
- DaschBosch Mossiesdrift Steen 2025
- Groot Phesantekraal Anna de Koning 2024
- Painted Wolf Wines Lightning Chenin Blanc 2024
- Stellenrust ArtiSons Mothership Chenin Blanc 2025
- Stellenrust 61 Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2025
- Stettyn Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2025
- Wildeberg Terroirs Chenin Blanc 2024
- Zoetendal Chenin Blanc 2022
Well done to Stellenrust, the only producer to claim two places in the Top 10!
But medals and old vines are only part of the equation. Because when you’re standing in front of the wine rack, there’s another number that matters: the price.
In 2025, the Top 10 delivered a pretty wide spread of prices, from a bargain-basement R99 to that rather spendy R925. This year, the gap has narrowed considerably. The cheapest bottle comes in at R185, the most expensive at R550, and eight of the 10 winners cost R330 or less.
So, if you want to drink one of South Africa’s top-rated Chenins, here’s how the 2026 winners stack up by price:
- R185: Painted Wolf Wines – Lightning Chenin Blanc 2024
- R225: City on a Hill – Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2024
- R250: DaschBosch – Mossiesdrift Steen 2025
- R250: Stettyn – Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2025
- R275: Groot Phesantekraal – Anna de Koning 2024
- R300: Stellenrust – 61 Barrel Fermented Chenin Blanc 2025
- R325: Wildeberg – Terroirs Chenin Blanc 2024
- R330: Zoetendal – Chenin Blanc 2022
- R480: Beaumont Family Wines – Hope Marguerite 2025
- R550: Stellenrust ArtiSons – Mothership Chenin Blanc 2025
Although the tasting was blind, so the judges didn’t know the price of each bottle, it’s good to know that half of this year’s winning wines can be had for R275 or less. That’s a great deal for bottles judged to be among the best examples of South Africa’s signature white variety.
But here’s something to think about. Compare this year’s ‘best Chenins’ with last year’s list and only two of the same wineries appear. Stellenrust, which dominated last year with three winning wines, still has two in the 2026 line-up, while Stettyn returns with its Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2025.
That means eight of this year’s 10 winning slots come from producers that were not represented in the 2025 Top 10. Does that mean the category is seriously competitive, or did some of last year’s winners simply not enter?
Although the competition rules prohibit a specific winning vintage from being entered again, there are some notable Chenin cellars missing here. What has happened to the likes of Alvi's Drift and Ken Forrester, let alone Opstal or Olifantsberg?
As we looked at over here in the world of gin, the ‘best’ label only really applies to those that actually entered the competition.
Food (or drink) for thought.
Either way, it’s a useful indicator of quality, while our breakdown above allows you to spend according to the depth of your pockets.
Speaking of which… there’s another useful development for 2026. Specialist wine merchant Brice & Burnett will be carrying all 10 winning wines. If choosing sounds like too much work, they’re also selling the complete 10-bottle collection for R3215
