Alto Rouge 2003

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Colour: Brilliant red.
Bouquet: Lively, intense and fresh fruity aromas.
Taste: A medium-bodied wine with tobacco, chocolate, toast and vanilla flavours. The tannins give the wine complexity and excellent ageing potential.

He recommends drinking it with simply flavoured red meats, game and duck or on its own.

variety : Merlot [ 45% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, 15% Shiraz ]

winery : Alto Estate

winemaker : Schalk van der Westhuizen

wine of origin : Coastal

analysis : alc : 14.2 % vol rs : 3.2 g/l pH : 3.12 ta : 6.4 g/l

type : Red style : Dry wooded

pack : Bottle closure : Cork

in the vineyard : All four varietals were hand-picked from trellised vineyards, growing in Hutton and Glenrosa soils. The vineyards, all north or north-west facing, are situated against the slopes of the Helderberg Mountain at 160m to 500m above sea level and benefit from the cooling effect of the afternoon maritime breezes during the ripening season.

At the time of picking the Merlot vines were 6 to 20 years old, the Cabernet Sauvignon between 9 and 20 years old, the Cabernet Franc 16 years old and the Shiraz, 16 years old.

The Merlot yielded 5 tons per hectare, the Cabernet Sauvignon between 4 and 5 tons, while the Shiraz and Cabernet Franc produced only 3 tons per hectare.

about the harvest: The four varieties, which ripen at different times, were harvested at between 23° and 27° Balling.

in the cellar : The grapes were fermented on the skins over seven days at 25° to 27°C in closed stainless steel tanks. The fermenting mash was pumped over several times a day.

After malolactic fermentation the component wines were aged for 18 months in a combination of first, second and third-fill barriques, mostly of French oak.

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