Plaisir de Merle Shiraz 2016

ageing : 

Although the wine is ready to enjoy now it will gain in complexity and character with further cellaring for 3 to 7 years.

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, and an area of only about 80 hectares of prime vineyards has been set aside for the Plaisir de Merle cellar. Winemaker Niel Bester 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 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. The grapes were sourced from a vineyard planted in 2009 and situated on the lower slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain at about 150m above sea level.

The juice was pumped over the skins daily to extract maximum colour until fermentation was completed. The wine was left on the skins for a further five days to macerate. After malo-lactic fermentation the wine was racked and transferred to barrels and matured in a combination of new, second and third-fill American and French oak for 12 to 16 months. For the final blend, individual barrels were selected to complete the blend.