Plaisir de Merle Grand Plaisir 2011

Name: Plaisir de Merle Grand Plaisir 2011
Brand: Plaisir de Merle
SKU: 43929

Colour: Dark red
Bouquet: Aromatic red berries, mulberry and plums, cedar and subtle vanilla aromas.
Taste: Cassis, red and black cherries with ripe red fruit fill the mouth with hints of oak, spice, vanilla and cedar.

Serve with grilled meats or pot-roasts.

variety : Cabernet Sauvignon [ 21% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, 38% Malbec, 33% Merlot ]

winery : Plaisir Wine Estate

winemaker : Niel Bester

wine of origin : Paarl

analysis : alc : 14.59 % vol rs : 2.7 g/l pH : 3.62 ta : 5.4 g/l

type : Red style : Dry body : Full taste : Fruity wooded

pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Cork

ageing : The tannins are ripe and accessible with a soft finish, but will provide structure for an ageing period of 7 to 12 years in the bottle. The different wines in the final blend were purposefully selected to provide different layers of flavour to increase the complexity of the wine.

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.

in the vineyard : The diversity of the soils, slopes and elevations is closely linked with the quality of Plaisir de Merle wines. The grapes were sourced from vines between 13 and 20 years of age situated between 130m and 350m above sea-level on the south-eastern slopes of the Simonsberg Mountain.

Viticulturist Freddie le Roux

about the harvest: The grapes were harvested from mid-February to mid-March between 24.8° and 25.9° Balling.

in the cellar : The grapes were fermented in small stainless steel tanks at 24° C for 9 to 11 days. The juice was pumped over the skins daily to extract colour, flavour and tannins. The wine was left on the skins for a further 3 to 5 days, racked and malolactic fermentation was completed in the barrels. The wine was matured for 16 months in new 300-litre French oak barrels. Great care went into the selection of individual barrels to create this unique wine. After blending, the wine had one course of filtration before bottling.

email the winery

email this page

find our wines in :