Lourensford Estate Merlot 2013

The wine has a brilliant colour - deep, dark and intense. Aromas of concentrated red berry fruit and plums greet you on the nose along with subtle hints of tobacco leaf. The pallet is dense, structured and supported by a smooth elegance and flavours of mulberry, dark chocolate and juicy dark berry fruit that will linger.

Serve this wine between 15-18 C for the best results

Versatile when it comes to food pairing options but a big wine that will pair well with big foods. Steak, kudu,ostrich, venison pie - this wine can handle all well. It will go well with grilled or barbequed foods as the intense flavours of the wine latch on to the pronounced ‘browning’ flavours which develop with these cooking methods.

variety : Merlot [ 100% Merlot ]

winery : Lourensford Wine Estate

winemaker : Hannes Nel

wine of origin : Stellenbosch

analysis : alc : 14.0 % vol rs : 2.0 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 above sea level
Age of vines: 11-13 years
Rootstock: 101-14 Mgt
Clones: MO347
Slopes: South-East and South-Western facing slopes
Row direction: North-South
Soil type: Decomposed granite, Oakleaf and Tukulu formations

about the harvest: A cool and wet winter allowed vines to go into proper dormancy. We experienced severe winds at the end of November and extreme heat wave conditions at the end of December. Luckily this did not affect the sensitive flowering and ripening stages too much. We experienced a cool summer with the highest rainfall for February in many years. This resulted in slower ripening and the ability to harvest at lower sugar levels. This resulted in refined wines with elegance and good natural acidity. The Merlot was handpicked from separate single vineyards into 5 ton fermenters with regular, manual punch-downs before the grapes were pressed and transferred to barrels for malolactic fermentation and ageing. The harvest dates were March-April 2013

in the cellar :

Cultivar: 100% Merlot Wood: Matured for 18 months in 300L French oak barrels of which 10% were new

MATURATION POTENTIAL This vintage can be enjoyed up to 2018 but will reach its best drinking potential toward the end of 2015 and will possibly peak only towards the end of 2016.

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