Wine Composition
100% Chenin Blanc
Winemakers Comments
A wine of incredible density and precision. A hint of yellow suggests sun ripened berries, with a bright green hue promising freshness. Aromas of lime blossom, white peach, caramel and brioche are followed by a poised palate with an extremely concentrated core. This is a great wine that will reward decades of cellaring. A true statement of DeMorgenzon’s dedication to excellence.
Awards
Tim Atkins | 96 points
Technical Analysis
Alcohol Percentage
13.84%
TA
6.7 g/l
pH
3.38
RS
2 g/l
Cellar Techniques
The grapes were picked in two different passes from a particular part of the old vineyard. The grapes were handpicked in the early morning hours, with bunch selection done in the vineyard, and a final selection in the winery. 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 (40% new), using indigenous yeasts, with no malolactic fermenation. The wine was aged on its lees in barrel for 10 months, without batonage, followed by a further aging in concrete egg for 6 months, before being bottled without filtration.
Winemaker
Name - Carl van der Merwe
Winery
DeMorgenzon, ‘the morning sun,’ was so named as it is the first part of the Stellenboschkloof valley to see the sun because of its high altitude and aspects. We cover the top southern and eastern slopes of Ribbokkop, overlooking the pinnacle of Kanonkop from where a cannon was fired to alert the farms in the region that a ship had put into Table Bay. The first road from Cape Town to Stellenbosch ran through the Stellenbosch Kloof.
In 2003 Wendy and Hylton Appelbaum bought DeMorgenzon and have since transformed DeMorgenzon into a 224-acre garden vineyard, where abundant wildflowers grow between the vines.