Full-bodied wine, well balanced with solid tannin structure and a variety of fruit on the aftertaste. The dominant flavours are raisins, fruit cake, slight spiciness, as well as integrated vanillin’s.
Enjoy with roost beef, ostrich, turkey or any personal preference.
variety : Merlot [ 100% Merlot ]
winemaker : Wynand Hamman
wine of origin : Stellenbosch
analysis : alc : 13.92 % vol rs : 2.4 g/l pH : 3.29 ta : 5.9 g/l
type : Red style : Dry body : Medium wooded
pack : Bottle closure : Cork
in the vineyard : Altitude: 300m above sea level
Age of vines: 7 years
Soil: Weathered Granite and Tukulu type soils
Crop size: 3 to 3.5kg per vine
Aspect & Location: Situated on the South - Westerly slope of the Bothmaskop, at the entrance to Jonkershoek, in Stellenbosch.
Climate: During the ripening period, climate variations were considerable. December 2001 was fair to cool, with rain occurring every two weeks.
in the cellar : After the vines had been de-stemmed and crushed, the mash underwent cold maceration at 18 degrees Celsius, being left on the skins for two days before fermentation. During fermentation at 28ºC, which lasted for eight days, racking took place every 8 hours. The wine was then left on its skins for a further 14 days, where after it was drawn off. The skins were gently pressed, wine was recovered, and this was then added to the free-run. Malolactic fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks, before the wine was transferred to a combination of new, second and third-fill 300l French oak barrels, all obtained from coopers in Bordeaux.
The wine was bottled after 15 months of barrel maturation.