DeMorgenzon, DMZ Chenin Blanc, 2019

DeMorgenzon DMZ Chenin Blanc is fresh, clean and with tons of bright fruit. Green apple, apricot, peach, hints of honey and floral aromas characterise a bright and upfront nose. The palate is rich with bold fruit flavours that culminates with a lingering aftertaste. Terrific with or without food.

Fruit from old, bush vine-trained Chenin Blanc vines grown on weathered granite and sandstone is selected from cool areas of Stellenbosch with good exposure to cooling sea breezes. The grapes are harvested at the point of optimum ripeness, once they have attained a light yellow hue. Their juice was fermented with selected yeasts in a combination of stainless steel tank and old French oak barrels. The final blend was made up after 6 months of ageing on the lees.

When we first tried this wine at the DeMorgenzon Estate, we were only and hour and an half off the plane after an horrendous journey. This was the first wine we tasted and by jove it hit the spot! The fresh, bright fruit flavours brought the palate to life and the underpinning minerality left a stoney feeling in the mouth that we knew would make this great with food. When the tasting was finished, we had a buffet lunch and back we went for more of the Chenin Blanc. It was even better when we tried it for a second time. Chenin Blanc is so widely planted in South Africa but this is one of the very best.

• ❖ ABV: 14%