Morgenster Lourens River Valley 2010

Name: Morgenster Lourens River Valley 2010
Brand: Morgenster
SKU: 32493

Colour: Opaque centre with lighter brick red edges, young and vibrant red.
Nose: Very fresh and vibrant flavor profile. Blackcurrant and cherry sweetness, with spicy clove, chive, anis and butter developments. Well integrated vanilla, cacao and caramel smoothes over into the palate.
Palate: Velvet entry, very plush and immediately filling. Sweeter dark berry fruits are very evident and contribute well to balance. Spicy sweet Cabernet Franc does well to pull the blend back into the classical category. Rounded silky tannins are already soft and velvety. Beautiful balance and great finesse round off a stunner of a vintage.Keeping with the philosophy behind Lourens River Valley Kotzé focused on letting the fruit do the talking, making the wine a true reflection of the terroir and what can be achieved with it in any given vintage. It was a smaller than usual crop but excellent quality prevailed. For Morgenster, the 2010 vintage can be tipped as a winner.

This would be delicious paired with more hearty dishes like a tomato lamb neck potjie, but will also be friendly towards a rich, flavoursome seafood pasta or risotto. Hard cheeses with preserves are a must.

variety : Cabernet Franc [ 50% Cabernet Franc, 33% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot ]

winery : Morgenster Estate

winemaker : Henry Kotzé

wine of origin :

analysis : alc : 14.57 % vol rs : 2.80 g/l pH : 3.49 ta : 6.3 g/l

type : Red style : Dry body : Full taste : Fruity wooded

pack : Bottle size : 0 closure : Cork

AWARDS

Tim Atkin 2013: 93 points
Stephen Tanzer 2015: 90 points
Platter Guide 2013: 4½ Stars

ageing : The 2010 Bordeaux blends are winemaker Henry Kotzé ’s first for Morgenster. Shaped in collaboration with the estate’s consultant winemaker, Pierre Lurton of Chateau Cheval Blanc, the wines showcase the Estate’s philosophy of letting the vintage determine the blend. Kotzé believes in a minimalistic style of winemaking which he says suits the grapes and the area, a principle held by his predecessor. His wines are therefore in harmony with earlier vintages stored in Morgenster’s famed cellar where they await re-release when owner Giulio Bertrand believes they have aged to their potential.

Keeping with the philosophy behind Lourens River Valley Kotzé focused on letting the fruit do the talking, making the wine a true reflection of the terroir and what can be achieved with it in any given vintage. It was a smaller than usual crop but excellent quality prevailed. For Morgenster, the 2010 vintage can be tipped as a winner.

in the vineyard : Grapes were derived from vineyards with a diversity of soils from deep decomposed granite to the more stoney, decomposed Table Mountain Sandstone. All yielded pristine fruit. Vines varied from seven to 17 years in age. Clonal material was selected and suited to the style we wanted to produce.

A slow dry January followed a very wet and windy November. The end of February and early March saw a long hot spell of 10 days rock the ripening. With sugar accumulation hurtling into 5th gear, picking was finished in record time.

Vineyards: Stellenbosch
Region: Helderberg

in the cellar : Fermented in stainless steel tanks with regular pump overs and controlled oxygen additions to strengthen yeast cell walls and promote colour stabilization. The wine spent an additional week to two weeks on the skins post fermentation. The Cabernet component underwent malolactic fermentation in third fill 300 liter barrels. This provided early integration of the complicated tannin structure and had a stabilizing effect on the colour. The Merlot underwent malolactic fermentation partially in wood and in stainless steel. This wine was bottled on 4 December 2011 using only a coarse filter size.

Maturation: 16 months in French oak as follows:
New oak 30%
2nd fill 10%
3rd fill 20%
4th fill 20%
5th fill 20%

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