Description
From diverse vineyard blocks on the estate, rooted in ancient soils, our Merlot embodies the rich tapestry of our terroir.
Dark chocolate, graphite and pencil shaving aromas and a palate of mint, basil, plum, black cherry, bramble and cassis framed by sculpted tannins and refreshing minerality. A wine that ages well.
ORIGIN
Sourced from north- and north-westerly vineyards where the slope has flattened somewhat, leading to a higher clay content in the soil. This gives the Merlot greater buffering capacity against stressful conditions.
VINIFICATION
The grapes were hand-picked and sorted, transferred to stainless steel tanks, and cold-soaked for 2 days for soft extraction. They were inoculated with 3 yeast strains. A combination of pump-overs was used for extraction (closed and open). Depending on the extraction site, pump-overs were stopped at various times during the ferment. The wine was left in contact with the skins post-ferment for delicate tannin manipulation. Malolactic fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks, after which the wines went to barrel – a combination of 225l and 300l barrels for 12 months of ageing before blending and bottling.
ABV 14.5%
