2025 Aphelion Pir Blewitt Springs Chenin Blanc, McLaren Vale

The Aphelion Pir Chenin Blanc from Blewitt Springs in McLaren Vale is a vibrant, textural white that highlights both the potential of Chenin Blanc in South Australia and Aphelion’s artisanal winemaking style. Aphelion is the project of Rob Mack, a Halliday Young Gun of Wine award winner, and his wife Louise Rhodes. Together they focus on small-batch, minimal intervention wines crafted from carefully selected vineyard sites across McLaren Vale, with Blewitt Springs a particular jewel thanks to its elevated sandy soils and cooling sea breezes.

The Chenin Blanc grapes for Pir are handpicked from old vines that thrive in the Blewitt Springs sands. These soils lend freshness and precision, while the maritime climate preserves acidity even in warm seasons. Winemaking is deliberately hands-off: whole-bunch pressing, wild fermentations, and maturation in a mix of seasoned oak and stainless steel. Time on lees brings texture and savoury nuance, balancing Chenin’s bright fruit with depth and complexity.

In the glass, the wine shows pale straw with green highlights. Aromatically it’s fragrant and detailed, with notes of green apple, Meyer lemon, white peach and quince layered with chamomile, almond and a hint of lanolin. On the palate it is medium-bodied and finely structured, combining juicy citrus and orchard fruits with a chalky mineral core. Lees ageing adds creamy texture, leading to a long, saline finish that reflects its coastal terroir.

Food pairings are wonderfully versatile: fresh oysters, grilled whiting, chicken with preserved lemon, or vegetarian dishes such as goat’s cheese tart, roasted fennel or zucchini flowers. The wine is delicious in its youth but will cellar gracefully for 6 to 10 years, gaining honeyed, nutty and waxy complexity typical of fine Chenin Blanc.