variety : Merlot [ 100% Merlot ]
winemaker : Louw Engelbrecht
wine of origin : Coastal
analysis : alc : 13.82 % vol rs : 2.7 g/l pH : 3.61 ta : 6.5 g/l
type : Red style : Dry body : Full wooded
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : The grapes for this single-vineyard wine were sourced from trellised vines grown in deep, red soils on the valley floor of the Klein Roosboom farm. The vineyard, established in 1991, produces no more than 6 tons per ha.
in the cellar : After 24 hours of cold soaking, the must was fermented on the skins (between 26° and 28° C) in closed, specially designed auto fermenters until dry. During this period the maximum fruit, colour and tannin extraction from the skins was made possible through very soft, continuous timer-regulated pump-over cycles. To soften the texture, the wine was left on the skins for two weeks after the fermentation period. Controlled malolactic fermentation took place in tank after which the wine was matured for 24 months in tight-grained new French oak, before bottling.
The name of this wine derives from the earliest description of the hills of Durbanville. To the 17th century Dutch settlers the indigenous flora with its gold and dark green spots, set against the slopes, recalled the exotic-looking leopard they encountered after arriving at the Cape.