in the cellar : VINEYARDS
The Merlot grapes come from our high altitude vineyards on the slopes of the Helderberg Mountain, where the cooler temperature restrains the natural vigour of the vines, and concentrates the typical varietal character in the grapes. Practises such as pruning in Winter and selective shoot removal in Summer reduce the yields to ensure maximum ripeness, flavour and colour in our grapes. A philosophy of environmentally friendly farming results in the minimal use of fungicides, herbicides and insecticides.
VINTAGE CONDITIONS
The ripening season was characterised by cool days and quite a lot of rain during the harvest. We fortunately did not suffer any damage to our crop due to Downy and Powdery mildew which thrives in those conditions. The soil moisture levels certainly reduced any stress levels in the vines and boosted the plants to ripen the grapes well.
WINEMAKING
The berries were very gently crushed. Three weeks maceration on the skins was allowed post alcoholic fermentation to extract as much as possible, from the skin followed by a very gentle pressing. Thereafter the wine spent 19 months maturing in 225 l French Oak barrels.