DMZ Sauvignon Blanc 2011

I have been a little quiet of late, in terms of posting anyway. What has brought on this uncharacteristic silence? It could only be an unanticipated retreat from the world of wine. My desire for, my enjoyment of wine has evaporated or has been perhaps replaced by the incredible and equally unanticipated euphoria of sport that has engulfed June, July and this first week of August. Whatever the reason, very little wine has come my way. I did enjoy however a peach of a wine to accompany my husband’s birthday dinner – DMZ Sauvignon Blanc 2011. You can purchase this around the £10 mark from Majestic and Tesco in the UK. DMZ is a shortening of sorts of De Morgenzon. Their vineyards are in Stellenbosch, and they like to play baroque music to their grapes. Unconventional? Well, given then wine I tried, unconventional methods can lead to unconventional wines, but fortunately this wine was more to my taste than piped baroque staples.

The wine itself defies some of the expectations anyone drinking a Sauvignon Blanc would typically hold. It is still clearly a Sauvignon Blanc but almost tastes like a blend with a small percentage of Semillion, and this is probably explained by the winemakers’ use of oak ageing for some of the grapes over two years as an addition to the freshly harvested grapes. This gives an additional layer of warmth above the 14% alcohol, and a complexity that made it a complement both to my husband’s cod dish and my lamb accompanied by lamb, lamb and more lamb. SB with lamb? Tells you all you need to know about a wine the makers describe as being like a stroppy teenager.