South Africa, Western Cape
Merlot
Description
Rich red cherry plum and pronounced ripe mulberry flavours. An elegant cool-climate style of wine with intensity of fruit and length. Good natural balance between primary fruit aromas, colour and structure extraction, rounded and integrated by subtle oak aging from larger 300-litre barrels. Ageing potential: The multi-layered complexity of this wine will develop over the following three to seven years.
Awards
- This wine has not yet received a recognition
Certificates
Alcohol
14.0%
Analytical data
dry
Vinification
Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks and every vineyard was handled differently to promote its individual unique natural terroir expression. Extended skin maceration was practiced on the wines originating from more robust soils, and these wines underwent malolactic fermentation in barrel. Grapes from the remaining cooler-climate vineyards were allowed to go through malolactic fermentation in stainless steel to promote the expressive blueberry notes associated with these sites and also to bring freshness to the mid-palate. The wine was aged in French oak barrels for 12 months. Of this, around 20% was new first-fill oak barrels.
Vineyard
The grapes originated from various high-quality vineyard sites around Stellenbosch and Elgin and, when blended, these specific vineyards’ profiles provide the inherent nuances for the character of this wine. The vineyards ranged in age from seven to 25 years old and were planted on a variety of soils. Shoot thinning, bunch thinning and green harvesting were all done in the vineyards to promote tannin ripeness and maximise the fruit aroma expression.
