Lanzerac Premium Merlot 2016

Name: Lanzerac Premium Merlot 2016
Brand: Lanzerac
SKU: 44148

The 2016 Merlot have an excellent deep red colour, with ripe red berries, cocoa, slight mint and chocolate on the nose. On the palate the wine shows a well-balanced tannin structure, rich body with fruit and a lingering aftertaste.

Match this appetizing drink with hearty dishes such as pan-seared duck breast with blueberry sauce, cheese platters featuring mature varieties and roast venison loin.

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variety : Merlot [ 100% Merlot ]

winery : Lanzerac Wine Estate

winemaker : Wynand Lategan

wine of origin : Jonkershoek Valley

analysis : alc : 14.3 % vol rs : 3.1 g/l pH : 3.39 ta : 6.4 g/l

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

pack : Bottle size : 750ml closure : Cork

AWARDS

4 Stars Platter’s Wine Guide (2016)
4 Stars Platter’s Wine Guide (2015)
4 Stars Platter’s Wine Guide (2014)
Double Gold Medal Michelangelo International Wine Awards (2015)
Silver Medal Wine Style People’s Choice Awards (2014)
Silver Medal Decanter World Wine Awards (2015)

ageing : The Lanzerac Merlot will benefit with 3 to 5 years maturation.

The Vintage
2014 saw a wet harvest season with lots of late rains, and it was probably the biggest harvest of the decade. Despite the high yields the wines are consistent in complexity.

in the vineyard : The Lanzerac Merlot 2016 was sourced from four different vineyard blocks, D6A, D6B and D11 from Lanzerac and J7 from Jonkersdrift in the Jonkershoek Valley. The ages of the vineyards in 2016 were: Block D6A and D6B (22 years), block D11 and (18 years) and block J5 (10 years). These various blocks cover an area of 8.221 hectares and produced a yield of 9.42 tons/hectare in 2016. The 4 blocks sit at an altitude of 125m - 400 meters above sea level with mainly deep red decomposed granite soils. All pruning and harvesting is done by hand to ensure that only healthy and fully ripe grapes reach the cellar.

about the harvest: Harvesting for the 2016 Merlot was done from early to middle February.

in the cellar : When the grapes arrive at the cellar by tractor the bunches are hand sorted before destemmend, the loose berries undergo a further hand sorting before it is lightly crushed. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks with regular pump-overs (2 times a day) being done to extract colour and flavour. The Merlot was fermented dry on the skins before pressing. The free run wine was kept apart from the press fraction. A portion of the Merlot wine underwent malolactic fermentation in barrels, whilst the remaining wine underwent malolactic fermentation in tank. A Selection of new, 2nd fill and 3rd fill French oak barrels were used to matured the Merlot for 12 months. Regular rackings resulted in excellent integration between wood, fruit and tannins.

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