Colour: Dark red
Bouquet: Aromas of sweet spices, red berry fruit with a hint sweet vanilla and oak.
Taste: Full-bodied, with a rich texture, dark red fruit, with peppery and sweet oak flavours that linger on the aftertaste.
This wine is an ideal partner to a juicy steak or Osso Bucco.
in the vineyard : Background
Established by the French Huguenots in 1693 on the slopes of the Simonsberg Mountains between Paarl and Franschhoek, Plaisir de Merle is a rare gem.
A Distell showpiece, this 974 hectare estate in Simondium, Paarl, has earned international acclaim for its white and red wines. About 400 hectares are planted with a variety of noble grape cultivars such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Shiraz and Malbec. An area of only about 80 hectares of prime vineyards has been set aside for the Plaisir de Merle cellar. Winemaker Niel Bester, who has gained fame in producing classically styled yet accessible wines, attributes the success of his wines to being able to work with great fruit coming from a very unique terrain and the invaluable input from his viticulture team.
The vineyards
The diversity of the soils, slopes and elevations all add to the quality of Plaisir de Merle fruit. Well-drained weathered granite soils (predominantly Tukulu and Hutton) with good water retention allow minimal interference in irrigation with most vineyards being dry land. There are two vineyards that contribute to this wine: the first was planted in 1993 and is situated between 250 m and 300m above sea level on the south-eastern slopes of the Simonsberg; the second is five years younger and situated on the lower slopes of the Simonsberg at about 150 m above sea level.
Viticulturist: Freddie le Roux
in the cellar : The grapes were fermented separately in stainless steel tanks. After crushing, yeast was added and the juice was pumped over the skins daily to extract colour until fermentation was completed. Upon completion of fermentation the wine was left on the skins for a further week to macerate and then racked and transferred to barrels for further maturation. The wine was matured in a combination of new and second-fill American and French oak for 12 to 16 months.