During the production of Merlot, full emphasis is placed on the extraction of the aromatic and opulent potential of the varietal. The grapes are grown on various soils from decomposed granite to sand on a clay base. Yields are kept down to about 7.5 tons/ha
Merlot is grown on the Kopland vineyard at Fairview. The soils are all of shale origin and of fairly low growth potential. Merlot is usually very fertile and tends to overcrop, but by planting it in these fairly heavy soils with their high clay content the growth and cropping are restricted.
Merlot was harvested ripe at about 24 degrees balling and destalked but not crushed before being inoculated with Bordeaux Red yeast. Malolactic fermentation was completed in stainless steel tanks. The wine was then transferred to French oak barrels where it spent a total of 14 months.