Bellingham Merlot 2004

Colour: Opaque ruby with a pink edge.
Nose: Intense and complex with an attractive array of black cherries, eastern spices, ripe plums and dark chocolate underpinned by hints of vanilla oak.
Palate: Full, round and voluptuous with a fresh and lively concentration of ripe berry fruit flavours intermingled with cacao and mocca vanilla. The ripe fruit tannins and well-integrated oak allow for smooth drinking.
Overall: An attractive medium bodied red wine with a supple structure facilitating sleek smoothness for early drinking, yet potential to develop further complexity and integration for up to 5 years.

Rosemary Rack of lamb, duck and cherry pie, beef fillet and veal Napolitana.

variety : Merlot [ 100% Merlot ]
winery : Bellingham Wines
winemaker : Niel Groenewald & Mario Damon
wine of origin : Coastal
analysis : alc : 14.0 % vol  rs : 3.8 g/l  pH : 3.44  ta : 5.8 g/l  
type : Red   wooded
pack : Bottle  

in the vineyard : Grapes were sourced from low-lying, low-yielding (6-8 tons per heactare) trellised vines in cool meso-climates allowing for slower ripening to encourage maximum formation of fruit extract.

about the harvest: Harvesting commences at optimum phenolic ripeness(24-25ºB).

in the cellar : After destalking and a 4 day cold soak on the skins, fermentation commences at 30°C for 6 days until dry incorporating 2 aerations per day to obtain the elegance of the variety. The young wine undergoes malolactic fermentation and is then aged in French oak (30%new) for 14 months.

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Merlot
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