Lourensford Estate Merlot 2011

A deep crimson red colour and an aroma of voluptuous ripe cherries and plums with attractive tea leaf undertones. Firm fruit tannin is beautifully balanced by well integrated soft oak flavours that gives structure and length.

Fairly versatile when it comes to food pairing options. Duck, red meat, pork, pastas, salads - this Merlot can handle them all well. It tends to not go well with strong and blue veined cheeses that can overwhelm the fruit flavours of the wine.Serve this wine between 14° - 16° C for the best results.

variety : Merlot [ 100% Merlot ]
winemaker : Chris Joubert
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 14.0 % vol  rs : 2.1 g/l  pH : 3.43  ta : 5.9 g/l  
type : Red  style : Dry  body : Full   wooded
pack : Bottle  size : 0  closure : Screwcap  

ageing : The wine is ready to enjoy now and will be at it's best up to 7 years from vintage date but can be enjoyed for up to 10 years if stored correctly.

in the vineyard : Altitude: 168 - 244m above sea level, and 8km from the cool sea breezes of False Bay
Age of vines: 10-12 years
Rootstock: 101-14 Mgt
Clones: MO9, MO347, MO343, MO181
Slopes: South-East and South-Western facing slopes
Row direction: North-South
Soil type: Decomposed granite, Oakleaf and Tukulu formations

about the harvest: It was a cooler vintage with healthy, ripe and matured fruit. Merlot is the first red grape to ripen on the Estate. Intense effort is put into our top Merlot blocks to create harmony and balance in the canopy to achieve optimum ripeness in the grapes. The fruit was picked by hand, early in the days of 25 - 28th of March 2011.

in the cellar : Cultivar: 100% Merlot

18 months in 300L French oak barrels of which 22% were 1st fill.

Closure: Aluminium screwcap with Saran/Tin liner

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Merlot
Merlot
Merlot
Merlot
Merlot