“If it’s pure Chenin perfume at a good price you’re after, this is your wine. Good Value.” - Jancis Robinson MW

Secateurs Chenin Blanc is Adi Badenhorst’s calling card and the most important wine he makes, because it’s his entry-point white, the first wine that most people try before thinking “Wow! That’s lekker! What else shall I try?”. It’s made from dry-farmed Chenin Blanc bush-vines grown on decomposed granite in the Paardeberg mountain range, where Adi has his ramshackle homestead. I will never forget getting up early, sitting on his stoop with a cup of coffee and watching the run rise slowly over the vines. Mainly because I had underestimated the strength of the African sun at 7.00am and Adi was in fits of giggles when I came back into the house as red as a baboon’s buttock.

Where were we? Oh yes… fermentation occurs spontaneously with native yeasts, across a range of vessels including foudres, stainless steel and French oak barriques, but you don’t want to hear all this stuff do you? That’s not what this wine is about and, in any case, whenever I ask Adi anything technical, he just shrugs and pretends he can’t remember or accuses me of being a nerd. At least, I think that’s what he called me. It’s a wine that celebrates conviviality, giggles, bonhomie and disorder, which is probably why this mailshot is all over the place. It’s not a serious wine, but it’s a wine that conveys the spirit of South Africa’s ‘New Wave’ and the ‘Swartland Revolution’, which was founded by Adi and fellow winemakers Eben Sadie, Chris and Andrea Mullineux and Calli Louw back in 2010.

So, yes, it’s just a drink, if you want, but it’s also the contemporary face of a winemaking history dating back to 1659, when the first wine was made in The Cape. It’s a wine that South African’s pour with great pride, because it represents a modern benchmark for quality and price and has probably attracted more people to the joys of South African wine than almost any other. Enough from me, here’s what the experts have to say:

Press reviews:

Tim Atkin MW: “Aged in foudres, it has a stony top note, deftly judged flavours of peach, pear and pink grapefruit, good palate weight and a bright, tangy finish. Hugely drinkable. Drink now-2028.” 90 points

The Wine Advocate: “The 2025 shows bright freshness, with honey and yellow flower layered over clean orchard fruit aromatics. Drink now-2029.” 91 points

Jancis Robinson MW: “Intense, creamy nose that smells like a much more expensive wine. The palate is scrawnier than the nose suggests, but if it’s pure Chenin perfume at a good price you’re after, this is your wine. Good Value. Drink now-2027.” 16 points

Vinous: “This is bright and fresh on the nose, with citrus peel and light orange pith scents. The palate is well-balanced with a lovely texture, hints of orange rind and walnut on the entry, with a slightly smoky finish. Very fine. Drink now-2030.” 88 points

James Suckling: “"Orange blossoms, sliced pears, persimmons and melon on the nose of this fruity white. It’s medium- to full-bodied with good fruit ripeness and freshness combined.” 91 points

Adi Badenhorst

I’ve had some great nights out with Adi Badenhorst, although I usually can’t walk straight by the end. Not because I’ve drunk too much, but because he pulls my leg so much that one ends up longer than the other. I met up with him recently and he confided sotto voce that I had always been a huge inspiration to him. He leaned in closer: “Huge!” he repeated, for the avoidance of doubt. I accepted the compliment with a wry smile, knowing full well that he was yanking my chain, because with Adi, you take him at face value at your peril and that is one of the many reasons why he’s my favourite winemaker on the planet.

Born into extreme silliness, Adi has done more to raise the profile of South African wine than my cousin, Paul, a paramedic from Aberdeen. But don't let appearances deceive you, Adi may look like the secret lovechild of an Appalachian freight-hopper and a cartoon bear, but all of his outer tomfoolery can’t conceal the fact that he's actually incredibly smart and talented (he hates it when I remind him that he was ‘head boy’ at school), and his wines are beautifully imperfect expressions of the Swartland, its vineyards, its people and their dungarees.