Choice Chenin

A fantastic new familial collaboration complete with playlist from Three Fates x Gordon Russell

One of the most exciting new wines to traverse my tasting table, and inspire some music matches, is the Three Fates x Gordon Russell Hawke’s Bay Chenin Blanc 2024. Fans of New Zealand wine may well have heard of Gordon, who made some stunning examples of the variety over his decades at the helm of Esk Valley. His daughter Holly has followed in her father’s footsteps and is now one of The Three Fates, a trio of women who have also been making some impressive wines in recent years.

This intergenerational collaboration has resulted in a delicious example of this underrated variety. It’s full bodied, dry and textural with rich lemon curd-like fruit, notes of beeswax, hints of honey and chamomile, underpinned by a wonderful lemony mineral freshness. Hailing from a great organic vineyard, its grapes were handpicked, foot trod, and fermented in a mix of tank and an old 500 litre oak puncheon.

Gordon is a big music fan and has made a playlist to accompany the wine:

As it’s summer on this side of the world, he’s going for a laid back summer vibe with his reggae playlist. Check out The Three Fates website as they put together mood-inspired playlists for all their wines.

Reggae with its heavy bass, might not be the most obvious choice to partner the edgy acidity of the Chenin Blanc variety, but Gordon’s grooves work as its such a concentrated and richly textured example. The bass dials down the acidity, and brings focus to the wine’s weight.

For me, who loves Chenin’s high acid thrill, I’m opting for something a little faster with more treble focus, two musical characters that emphasise acidity. I’m spinning Bitchin’ Baja’s Opus in Springtime, whose high pitched rythms brings synchs with the freshness, with pure electronic tones that match the purity of the fruit.

Oh yes, and even the wine’s label is matched to the variety. “The label had to be yellow,” states Gordon. “When I think of Chenin Blanc I’m reminded of yellow fruit and flavours. Pineapple, passionfruit, honey, chamomile, grapefruit (pith, in this case) and quince spring to mind.”The label artwork is an adaptation of a Fane Flaws painting, “Bird Watcher’, that hangs in the Russell family house. “Given its yellow earthy tones it only seemed natural that this piece of art with all its memories would find its place onto the label of this first Three Fates collaboration,” says Gordon.