DeMorgenzon DMZ Chardonnay 2019

The top-end Chardonnay Reserve from DeMorgenzon in Stellenbosch is highly acclaimed but the current-release 2018 will set you back R430 a bottle. Happily for those on a tight budget, the second-label DMZ 2019 is much more attainable at R130 and also makes for excellent drinking.

From various Stellenbosch vineyards, each parcel was fermented separately, using a combination of natural yeast and inoculation in both older oak and tank, maturation lasting seven months.

The nose shows some flinty reduction before lemon, grapefruit and pineapple while the palate shows very good fruit purity and concentration with racy acidity and a pithy finish. It’s rich but still very stylish and the result is that it very much over-delivers on quality relative to price.

CE’s rating: 92/100.

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