Rusden’s 2009 Christian Chenin Blanc has pronounced honeyed apple, peach, wet dog and crushed stone aromas with a touch of funk. Dry and light bodied with just 10.5% declared alcohol, there’s a good concentration of apple and mineral flavors in the mouth with a long earthy finish. It’s drinking well now and is made in such a style that suggests it that it should develop a nice honeyed character with a bit of bottle age, drinking to 2014+. Importer: CLD Imports, Barrington, IL; tel. (847) 898-9500

One white wine is produced, the 2007 Christian Chenin Blanc aged in new and seasoned French barriques on the lees for eight months. Medium straw-colored, it reveals a lovely perfume of spring flowers, mineral, melon, and citrus. On the palate it is dry with well-integrated oak, a creamy texture, good depth, and a lengthy finish. Drink it over the next 1-2 years although its balance could take it for a longer ride. Rusden is where the gifted Christian Canute makes wine on the family property in Barossa. He has a unique ability to produce wines of great finesse combined with the intensity and power obtained from the best Barossa Valley fruit.Importer: CLD Imports, Barrington, IL; tel. (847) 898-9500

The 2005 Chenin Blanc Christian, which is aged six months on its lees in old French oak, is a terrific example of a dry Chenin Blanc. It offers lovely nectarine and orange blossom, melon, and flower-like aromas, fresh, medium-bodied flavors, and considerable depth as well as richness. This is a dry, crisp, hedonistic as well as intellectual delight to consume over the next 1-2 years. If you haven’t yet noticed, Christian Canute is one of Australia’s finest young mavericks. At the ripe old age of 28, he’s doing work that suggests someone with twice as much experience.Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA; tel. (888) 472-5283

One of the finest Chenin Blancs made in the New World is the 2004 Chenin Blanc Christian, which boasts notes of honeydew melon, orange rind, and lemon oil. Lively, fresh, aromatically expressive, dry, and medium-bodied with loads of flavor as well as gorgeous underlying acidity, it should be enjoyed over the next 2-3 years. Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA; tel. (888) 472-5283

I don’t think there is a better Chenin Blanc produced in the New World than Rusden’s 2002 Christian. A 100% Chenin Blanc aged on its lees in neutral French wood, it boasts sumptuous aromas of flowers intermixed with loamy earth. Beautifully textured, rich, and full-bodied, yet incredibly elegant as well as pure, it is a terrific example of Chenin Blanc from a warm climate area. Drink it over the next 1-2 years. Importer: Dan Philips, The Grateful Palate, Oxnard, CA; tel. (888) 472-5283