Mont Rochelle Merlot 2009

Light brick red with youthful purple hues, this wine displays fragrant notes of glazed dark cherries and cassis. The palate has a lovely richness and portrays flavours of mulberries, spicy plumb pudding, and vanilla with an elegant and well-structured tannin profile.

This wine will benefit from being enjoyed with most red meats including balsamic braised lamb shanks served with creamy mash and caramelised seasonal vegetables.

variety : Merlot [ 100% Merlot ]
winemaker : Dustin Osborne
wine of origin : Franschhoek
analysis : alc : 14.88 % vol  rs : 2.6 g/l  pH : 3.43  ta : 5.9 g/l  va : 0.50 g/l  
type : Red  style : Dry  body : Full   wooded
pack : Bottle  size : 750ml  closure : Cork  

ageing : 6 years bottle maturation

The Mont Rochelle Merlot is all about finesse, elegance and structure. Careful management of the vines ensures that the Merlot fruit produced on Mont Rochelle is of the highest quality, allowing our winemaker to create the beautifully complex and finely structured Merlots that are a hallmark of the Mont Rochelle portfolio.

in the vineyard : The 2008 winter season was very cold and wet, allowing for good vine dormancy and an increased water table. Late September rains further enabled accumulation of good moisture reserves in the soil. A late spring and later summer allowed for cool weather during bud break, which was delayed. This cooler weather continued into summer allowing for good flowering and fruit set. The cooler ripening season caused the harvest to start two weeks later than usual. Late February and early March temperature spikes had the cellar going into overdrive and the picking season was more than a month shorter than usual, but fruit quality was superb!

Vine age: 10 years
Vines per Ha 3,980
Altitude: 260 - 270 m

about the harvest: 

Harvesting of the grapes occurred at optimal ripeness ensuring that the maximum fruit potential for the wine was achieved.

Harvested: 19th February 2009
Harvest Method: Hand

in the cellar : Fermentation at 26 degrees Celsius with gradual tannin extraction resulted in an elegant tannin profile. Maturation in 100% French oak barrels for 24 months, 30% of which was new, added fine structure and smoothness to the wines’ profile.

Malolactic: 100%
Fermentation: Stainless Steel
Bottled: 28th November 2011
Barrels: 24 months in 225 litre French oak 30% New oak

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