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Five Heirs Clare Merlot 2003

Colour – Red berry colour with hints or red bricks.
Nose – Plums, red berries, nutmeg, peachy, sweet basil and meaty nose.
Palate – Well balanced, juicywine. Good follow through from the nose gives flavours of plums, red berries, peach, meat and mintyness.

Enjoy with roost beef, ostrich, turkey or any personal preference.
variety : Merlot [ 100% Merlot ]
winemaker : Philip Costandius
wine of origin : Coastal
analysis : alc : 14.16 % vol  rs : 2.5 g/l  pH : 3.47  ta : 5.4 g/l  
type : Red  style : Dry  body : Medium   wooded
pack : Bottle  

ageing : Although the wine is drinking well now, it can benefit from 4 to 5 years maturation.
in the vineyard : Origin: Stellenbosch - 33%, Somerset West - 77%.
Altitude: 300 m above sea level.
Age of vines: 7 years.
Soil: Weathered Granite and Tukulu type soils.
Crop size: 3 to 3.5 kg per vine.
about the harvest: All harvesting was done by hand. Extreme care was taken not to damage the grapes and only healthy, fully ripened grapes were picked.
Harvest date: February 2003.
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 28 degrees Celsius, 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 300 ltr. French oak barrels for a period of 6 - 8 months.
All barrels were obtained from coopers in Bordeaux.
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OTHER VINTAGES

Five Heirs Clare Merlot 2003
Merlot
Five Heirs Clare Merlot 2001
Merlot
Five Heirs Clare Merlot 2000
Merlot