Rich, dark red colour with ripe punchy plum flavours, sweet black cherry and a velvet finish. Delicate wood does not mask the ripe fruit.
Enjoy now with roast chicken, beef, lamb, pasta and steak. Serving temperature: 12º - 14ºC.
variety : Merlot [ 100% Merlot ]
winemaker : Lolly Louwrens
wine of origin : Robertson
analysis : alc : 13.42 % vol rs : 4.2 g/l pH : 3.33 ta : 6.03 g/l
type : Red style : Dry body : Full taste : Fruity wooded
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Merlot by nature is very sensitive to heat and prefers cooler areas; therefore we plant our Merlot on the lower mountain slopes in deep Karoo soils that retain water well. Fruit was harvested in the last week of February from 35 specially selected grape growers in the Robertson Valley.
Our Merlot vines are planted from east to west to protect grapes from direct sunlight and to utilize the prevailing sea breeze to cool the grapes during the ripening season. Irrigation is supplemented by controlled drip irrigation from the Breede River when needed.
Vintage
Incredible healthy grapes of excellent quality to produce outstanding wines - this is how the 2006 vintage will be remembered. As in 2005, the season started with very little winter rainfall in Robertson, but this time around, enough rain fell in the Brandvleidam catchment area to ensure sufficient water supply.
Early and even budbreak occurred and due to lots of wind and a cooler growing season only moderate vineyard vigour was achieved. The prevailing strong wind induced stress on the grapevines which had a positive effect on wine quality, as it led to smaller, looser bunches with fewer, smaller and more concentrated berries. The 2006 crop was a little bigger than in 2005, but is till smaller than an average crop. This is mainly due to the smaller, looser bunches with smaller berries.
Optimum ripeness was reached at lower sugar levles due to the cooler ripening period. Especially the night temperatures were lower than normal. This, coupled with the smaller berries, ensured excellent red wine quality.
2006 will be a vintage to be remembered.
about the harvest: Grapes were harvested at full ripeness between 24,5º - 26,5º Balling from a selection of vineyards.
in the cellar : Cold soaking happened two days prior to fermentation to ensure optimum colour and flavour extraction. Fermentation happened in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks at 24ºC for 7 days. Eighty percent of the wine was matured on French oak and twenty percent on American oak for 7 months to add weight and complexity.