La Motte Millennium 2008

Name: La Motte Millennium 2008
Brand: La Motte
SKU: 26634

This is the first Millennium produced from grapes originating 100% from La Motte's Nabot farm near Bot River. The wine has a pure intensity of flavours with prominent raspberry, plums, fruitcake, toffee and truffle. A fleshy consistency and muscular body hide the polished tannins and the finish is clean and fresh.

Ideal with any sumptuous meal. Best served with red meats, game, roast and noble, matured cheese.

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variety : Merlot [ 31% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec, 4% Petit Verdot ]

winery : La Motte

winemaker : Edmund Terblanche

wine of origin : Walker Bay and Sbosch

analysis : alc : 13.42 % vol rs : 3.7 g/l pH : 3.81 ta : 5.3 g/l

type : Red style : Dry body : Full wooded

pack : Bottle closure : Cork

in the vineyard : Origin
Grapes for this wine originate from Bot River in the Walker Bay region.

Vintage
Predictions by farmers of early fruits, such as peaches, proved to be correct - the season was at least two weeks later than normal. Weather preceding ripening was cool and created the right conditions for an exceptional year, described by some as "European". Sugar levels raised slowly - a very positive aspect. Timing, however, was complicated by untimely rains and harvesting required pains-taking planning. In general, ripening was at lower sugar levels, resulting in elegant wines with lower alcohol levels.

Viticulture
On average, the vineyards are ten years old and the blocks were planted closely together in mainly shallow shale soil of a medium potential. All vines are trellised according to the Perold system, receive drip irrigation and are managed organically. The windy conditions, cool temperatures and non-application of fertilizers caused a low yield. The yield was further limited through the removal of unevenly ripe bunches.

in the cellar : Before de-stalking, all the grapes were hand-sorted. The de-stalked grapes were cold-soaked for two to three days, followed by inoculation with selected yeasts. Fermentation was at between 25 and 30 °C. After fermentation the wine was left on the skins for a further 20 days to promote extraction and body. Malolactic fermentation was partly in barrels.

Maturation
The different components were matured separately in 225-litre French oak barrels - 50% new and 50% older narrels - for 15 months. The barrels originate from different forests in France. Only 8 000 cartons (6 x 750 ml) were bottled on La Motte on 2 November 2009, to be released as 2008 La Motte Millennium.

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