Fairview Flagship Merlot 2001
Colour: Deep crimson red.
Aroma: Dark chocolate and plums.
Palate: Firm structures sumptuous fruit.
variety : Merlot [ 100% Merlot ]
winemaker : Anthony de Jager
wine of origin : Coastal
analysis : alc : 15.26 % vol rs : 2.2 g/l pH : 3.46 ta : 5.7 g/l
type : Red style : Dry
pack : Bottle
AWARDS
2000 Vintage
Silver International Wine & Spirits Competition 2002
Silver International Wine & Spirits Competition 2003
2001 Vintage
90 points Wine Spectator 2003
4 ½ stars John Platter Guide
ageing : This wine will benefit from 3 to 5 years of cellaring.
in the vineyard : Flagship Merlot is harvested from cordon pruned vines at Rheeboksfontein in Malmesbury. The vineyard is on a South facing slope, at an altitude of about 150m above sea level. Sea breezes cool the area down at night. The soils on this farm are red ferric Oakleaf. These are suitable for dry land viticulture as they hold moisture well. The yield of these 10-year-old vines was 7 tons/ha in 2001. The fruit was very small and concentrated in colour and flavour.
about the harvest: Merlot was picked over a number of days at sugar levels of around 25 - 26°Balling in February 2001.
in the cellar : The bunches were destalked, but not crushed. Fermentation was started in stainless steel tanks being pressed off to complete fermentation and malolactic in barrel. We chose French barrels for this wine, to give it a classical feel. The wine was in wood for 16 months. It was bottled without filtration.
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