Plaisir de Merle Merlot 2017

ageing : Accessible now and with careful cellaring will mature for a further five to ten 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’s grapes. Well-drained weathered granite soils (predominantly Tukulu and Hutton) with good water retention allow the dry-land vineyards to slowly ripen the grapes to full maturity of flavour and tannins. The grapes were selected and handpicked from two vineyards, 10 and 13 years old. They are situated between 140m and 370m above sea level on the south-eastern slopes of the Simonsberg.

The grapes were harvested at 24.3 and 25.2° Balling and were fermented in stainless steel tanks at 24 °C for around 7 to 9 days. The juice was pumped over the skins daily until fermented dry. Upon completion of fermentation the wine was left on the skins for 7 days. The wine was racked off the skins and malo-lactic fermentation was completed in the tanks and barrels. The wine was matured in 20% new, 30% second- fill and 50% third-fill French oak barrels for 16 months. Finally, all the individual barrels were tasted and evaluated to select the final blend.