Ridgeback Journey 2005

Name: Ridgeback Journey 2005
Brand: Ridgeback
SKU: 20136

An elegant array of dark fruit, pencil shavings and mineral aromatics with a hint of mint and leather. Complimented by a neat structure with suede tannins and oak spice lingering on the long finish.

variety : Merlot [ 55% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvigon, 20% Cabernet Franc ]

winery : Ridgeback Wines

winemaker : Cathy Marshall

wine of origin : Coastal

analysis : alc : 13.0 % vol rs : 2.28 g/l pH : 3.64 ta : 6.11 g/l

type : Red style : Dry taste : Fruity wooded

pack : Bottle closure : Cork

AWARDS

Silver Mondiale Concours Bruxelle
4 star - John Platter 2010

about the harvest:

Merlot was harvested on 9 February 2005, Cabernet Sauvignon on 21 February and Cabernet Franc on 17 February 2005.
The above components were kept separate until blending just prior to bottling.

Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Franc

Sugar 24.8º Balling 24.4º Balling 23.6º Balling

Acid 5.1g/l 5.2g/l 5.35g/l

pH 3.8 3.9 3.72

in the cellar :

All of the above were destemmed without crushing. Wholeberry component was 80% in the stainless steel tank fermenters.
Must was inoculated with commercial yeast strains best suited to the two varieties.
Daily pump overs were given twice to three times daily to extract colour, tannin and flavour.
Fermentation lasted for 10 days on Cabernet Franc at 27° - 29° C and 8 days on Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon at 26° - 28° C.
Wine was gently pressed and free run was consolidated with press fractions.
The wine was gravity fed to second and third filled French casks for secondary Malo-lactic fermentation.
The wine matured in 225 litre casks for 20 months.
The chosen casks for both varieties were assembled in the blend prior filtration and bottling.