DeMorgenzon The Divas Chenin Blanc 2017

Headliner.

The Reserve Chenin Blanc from Stellenbosch property DeMorgenzon is now firmly entrenched as one of the best examples in a generally very strong category – the 2017 recently placing among the winners of the Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge and rating 94 on this site.

Could the Reserve be even better? The Divas is just that, an occasional bottling which sees winemaker Carl van der Merwe attempt to push the envelope, the 2017 soon to be released. Grapes are from a specific part of the 1972 vineyard that supplies the Reserve, chosen for exceptional quality, while maturation involved spontaneous fermentation and maturation lasted 10 months in French oak, a third new before a further six months in concrete eggs.

The result is a wine of unusual precision. On the nose, a tiny hint of struck-match reduction before top notes of flowers, hay and herbs and then pear and white peach. The palate, meanwhile, is marked by weightless intensity – pure and fresh yet simultaneously possessing plenty of intricate and subtle flavour, the finish long and pithy. Very smart indeed. Price: TBC.

Editor’s rating: 96/100.

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