Mbali Chenin Blanc: Trader Joe's $5.99 Hidden Gem

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Uncorking exceptional value has never been more satisfying than with Trader Joe's Mbali Chenin Blanc V&A 2024—potentially the $5.99 wine of the year. This South African gem delivers a drinking experience that defies its humble price tag, offering complexity and pleasure normally reserved for bottles costing twice as much.

Freshly bottled on August 19, 2024 (yes, they actually tell you the exact date!), this wine showcases why freshness matters in value-priced whites. The blend combines 79% Chenin Blanc—that chameleon-like grape originally from France's Loire Valley but now thriving in South Africa—with 21% Viognier. This thoughtful pairing results in a wine that captivates from first sniff to last sip, with the Viognier lending its characteristic aromatic lift and textural richness to enhance the Chenin Blanc's natural versatility.

What truly impresses is the layered flavor profile that unfolds with each taste. There's a delicate touch of nectar-like sweetness that never ventures into cloying territory—think biting into a perfectly ripe summer fruit. Peaches, pears, melon, citrus, and honey notes dance together in harmonious balance, supported by just enough body (13.5% alcohol) to make this both a delightful standalone sipper and a companion to lighter fare like chilled seafood. And for those curious, "Mbali" means "flower" in Zulu, reflecting both the wine's South African heritage and its blossoming flavors. Whether you're hosting neighbors on the porch or simply unwinding after work, this custom-created treasure proves that exceptional wine experiences don't require emptying your wallet. Grab a few bottles while they last—wines this good at this price rarely stay on shelves long!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, welcome Domain Dave, CheapWineFindercom.
Today we've got a wine review,something we wrote up on the
CheapWineFindercom website andit's from Trader Joe's and it's
$5.99.
It's actually the leadingcontender for the $5.99 wine of
the year, and this one is theMbali Chenin Blanc V&A 2024.

(00:26):
Not only is it 2024, they tellyou what day it was bottled on
it was August 19, 2024.
So this is a fairly freshbottle of wine, which isn't the
worst thing and maybe one of thereasons why it tastes so good
right now, because sometimesinexpensive, younger wines need
to be fresh, and this one is.

(00:51):
Chenin Blanc is a grape from theLourdes Valley in France.
It is a very versatile grape.
It can be sweet, it can be dry,it can be oaked un-oaked, it
can be made into a bubbly.
It can be made into alldifferent styles, which
sometimes is a problem, becauseif you find a Chenin Blanc you

(01:13):
like and then you find adifferent brand, it could be
completely different.
You go, oh, I don't know aboutthis, and it kind of puts you
off Chenin for a while.
I'm going to take a sip of thisone.
This is surprisingly tastingactually not surprising anymore.

(01:39):
This is a tasty little of $5.99wine.
This is a summer, you know,sitting out with the neighbors
kind of wine that you might wantto buy multiples of.
It's 13.5 in the alcohol, soit's not a little lightweight,
but it's something that goesdown easy.
You put a good chill on it andit's really fine.
But Chenin Blanc is found athome in South Africa.

(02:00):
But Chenin Blanc is found athome in South Africa.
And about 15 years ago SouthAfrica was a major player in the
value price wine.
They had a lot of inexpensivewines that kind of brought it.
But they did kind of a rethinkbecause To ship a case of $12
wine costs exactly the same asto ship a case of $35 wine.

(02:23):
So it makes more sense to tryto move your upper wines.
So they started concentratingon the differences of the
different growing regionsWestern Cape's, I think, the
largest one.
The winemaker here is not anormal regular winery.
It's a custom winery that makeswines to order.
I mean Trader Joe's said, hey,give me this, and they did at

(02:45):
this price.
So it's not even really awinery that has an established
reputation, it's just, and theyprobably make way more wines
than you think they do.
Custom wines are everywherenowadays.
You go into supermarket and thesupermarket chain might have 15

(03:06):
wines that they have madespecially from them.
I know my local wine shop has awhole bunch of direct from the
winery wines for them that aredifferent than the regular wines
.
So custom wines are majorplayer right now now and they
are equal to retail wines andthey also the labeling looks

(03:27):
good too V&A no, it's notViagner, it's V&A, another
French grape.
You can find V&A as a singlevarietal wine and it's a nice
single varietal wine, but it ismore often in a blend.
That's one of the few whitewines you'll find in a red blend

(03:48):
too.
It's actually, you know,semi-common to see V&A in an
Australian wine, and one of thereasons it goes into different
wines and even white wine blendstoo.
It's got a great nose.
I mean, if your wine is AromaChallenge, you put a splash of

(04:09):
or whatever into what's themakeup here.
Chenin Blanc, 79%, v&a 21%.
So that's a little bit morethan a splash.
V&a 21%.
So that's a little bit morethan a splash.
But you add that you get agreat nose and plus it has this
acidity that will give the winea oomph.

(04:30):
It'll just make a kind of a oh,that's nice wine into a wow,
that's really nice wine.
I'm going to take another sip.
Now that I talked about howwonderful it is, I want to take
a sip.
So hold on, it's got a touch ofnectar sweetness to it.

(04:53):
It's not a sweet wine, but ithas that sensation of biting
into a ripe plum or somethingwhere you know it's sweet, but
it's not sugary sweet.
It tastes great.
I mean it really does.
I mean you may go.
I don't know what Chenin Blanctastes like and I don't know
what Viennese tastes like.
I might not want to taste thiswine.

(05:15):
The flavors in the wine are allflavors you've heard before, but
just in different order.
I mean there's peaches, pears,melons, lemons, tangerine,
there's honey.
There's all those flavors inhere, and you get that in other
wines too.
So it's not like it'scompletely foreign.

(05:36):
This is a wine that's in yourwheelhouse.
You just don't know it yet.
So that's it for me, dom.
You just don't know it yet.
So that's it for me.
Domain Dave, cheapwinefeddercom.
It's the Mambali.
Mambali is the Zulu word forflower and that's just a nice
thing to know.
Next time you're getting readyto plant your garden you can get
some Mambalis, and it's $5.99.

(05:58):
I mean it tastes great.
It's a 5.99.
I mean it tastes great, it's anice white wine, it's got a,
it's got enough body, but it'snot really a food wine, but it's
a nice sipper.
I mean it might go with coldshrimp, that type of thing, but
it's a nice wine for 5.99.
There's no complaints.
So, adios, keep it cheap.
This is domain day forcheapwinefightercom and I've got

(06:19):
another wine coming up in acouple of days.
It's a kind of a special one.
It's a Trader Joe's wine fromthe Piedmont that isn't like
their normal ones.
We'll get into that in a coupleof days.
So, adios, like I said, keep itcheap, stay cool or warm,
because I can't decide what itis out there and I'll be talking
to everybody in a couple ofdays.
Bye.