2013 DeMorgenzon Chenin Blanc Reserve

Community Tasting Notes (11) Avg Score: 91.2 points

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  2/20/2020 - KEBaird Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Lovely tart wine with just a hint of sweetness. Paired well with some mahi mahi and was also good stand-alone paired with a good book.

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  7/28/2017 - TannicBeast Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Tasted blind. Clear straw yellow. The nose is clean, with ripe apple, pear, lemon, lime, herbs, honey and some subtle oak influence. The palate is dry, consistent with the nose, with a fruit forward entry and a slight bitterness on the finish. The acidity is medium (+), the alcohol is high at 14%. The mouthfeel is rich and rounded, with medium (+) flavor intensity and length. I did not guess this to be a four-year-old Chenin Blanc, as it is cleaner, more tart yet more alcoholic than what I would have expected. It is drinking well now but clearly has many years of enjoyment left thanks to its very nice structure.

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  7/26/2017 - Heynetty wrote:

  Tasted Blind
  
  A: Pale lemon
  N: Primary_Apple, pear, peach, honey
  Secondary_Butter, Vanilla and smoke
  Tertiary_nuts. Developing.
  P: Tastes much like aroma but more honey. Dry, acidity is medium (+), high alcohol (14%), medium (+) body and flavor intensity. Medium (+) finish.
  C: Its interesting and certainly more palatable than the dry Loire Chenin Blanc than i have had. The botrytis gives us the honey here. Just not an exciting wine. At $30, i think i am a tad underwhelmed. Beginning to think that i just don't like this grape or perhaps like hats, one simply needs to find the style that suits.
  
  Vintners Notes:
  
  VINEYARDS
  
  De Morgenzon’s Chenin Blanc comes from low-yielding vines planted in 1972, which were originally planted as bush vines but recently lifted onto trellises. The vines are planted in decomposed granite soils, at altitudes of 250 to 300 meters above sea level. Close proximity to False Bay ensures cooling breezes in the warm summer months.
  
  VINTAGE
  
  Crop levels were good in 2013 with warm temperatures and breezy conditions ensuring healthy fruit. Some moisture in early January followed by very hot conditions in February resulted in small amounts of botrytis. Given the excellent quality of the “noble rot”, this was included in the harvest and gives the wine an added dimension.
  
  VINIFICATION AND MATURATION
  
  The grapes were picked in four different passes in order to achieve optimum ripeness and balance in the final wine. The grapes were handpicked in the early morning hours, with bunch selection done in the vineyard. Fruit was cooled down and then gently pressed, whole bunch, and the juice was settled overnight without the use of settling enzymes. Fermentation occurred naturally in French oak barrels (25% new), using indigenous yeasts. The wine was aged on its lees in barrel for 11 months, without any topping or batonage.

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  5/6/2017 - SnowMeadow Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Paired beautifully w Maine clams and butter. Just delicious, yet again.

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  6/27/2016 - SnowMeadow Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Another fabulous bottle. This stuff is sensational. Complexity for days, great cut, food friendly. Should get even better as the oak notes integrate more seamlessly, though I'll be hard pressed not to drink my remaining bottles.

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View all 11 Community Tasting Notes

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