Alto Rouge 2001

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Winemaker Schalk van der Westhuizen describes the ruby-coloured wine as offering ripe mulberry, wild berries and plum with a touch of vanilla on the nose and juicy berries seamlessly integrated with oak, on the palate. In his view the tannins give the wine complexity and excellent ageing potential.

He recommends drinking it with simply flavoured red meats, game and duck or on its own.

variety : Merlot [ 48% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, 15% Shiraz ]

winery : Alto Estate

winemaker : Schalk van der Westhuizen

wine of origin : Coastal

analysis : alc : 13.71 % vol rs : 3.43 g/l pH : 3.4 ta : 6.51 g/l

type : Red style : Dry wooded

pack : Bottle closure : Cork

AWARDS

International Wine & Spirit Competition 2004 - Commended

in the vineyard : All three varietals were hand-picked from trellised vineyards, growing in Hutton and Glenrosa soils. The vineyards, all north or north-west facing, are situated against the slopes of the Helderberg Mountain between 160 and 500 metres above sea level and benefit from the cooling effect of the afternoon maritime breezes during the ripening season.

At the time of picking the Merlot vines were 5-19 years old, the Cabernet Sauvignon between 8 and 19 years old and the Shiraz, 15 years old.

The Merlot yielded 5 tons per ha, the Cabernet Sauvignon between 4 and 5 tons per ha, while the Shiraz and Cabernet Franc produced only 3 tons per ha.

about the harvest: This wine is made up of a Bordeaux-style blend of Merlot (48%) Cabernet Sauvignon (22%), Cabernet Franc (15%) and Shiraz (15%). The four varieties which ripened at different times, were all harvested by hand and brought to the cellar at an average of 23° to 27° Balling.

in the cellar : The grapes were fermented on the skins over seven days at 25° to 27° Celsius in closed stainless steel tanks. The fermenting mash was pumped over several times a day.

After malolactic fermentation the component wines were aged in a combination of first, second and third-fill, mostly French barriques for 18 months. The final blend was made up and bottled in April 2003.

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