Fleur du Cap Merlot Unfiltered 2000

The wine has a dark, intense ruby red colour with a powerful nose of ripe red berries, strawberries and plenty of dark chocolate backed by a delightful spicy character. "The palate follows the nose with the same ripe fruit and chocolate flavours and spicy character", says winemaker, Coenie Snyman.

Food PairingPerfect with Parma ham, roast lamb kebabs and a hearty oxtail meal. An ideal accompaniment to robust Italian dishes.

variety : Merlot [ 100% Merlot ]

winery : Fleur du Cap

winemaker : Coenie Snyman

wine of origin : Coastal

analysis : alc : 14.5 % vol rs : 2.2 g/l pH : 3.60 ta : 6.41 g/l

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

pack : Bottle

ageing : It is very drinkable now but will also mature well over the next 5-7 years.

in the vineyard : Made from superior grapes meticulously selected from prized vineyard blocks in the Cape Coastal region, the Fleur du Cap Range of Unfiltered wines are shaped in perfect harmony with the forces of nature. Handpicked in the vineyard and handcrafted in the cellar, these new generation wines capture the highly sought-after qualities of varietal character and terroir. Sedimentation, racking and fining as opposed to filtration maximise the preservation of colour and flavour elements resulting in wines that abound with fruit and flavour.

Terroir
Climate, soil, altitude and slope orientation are selected to capture as much varietal character as possible. Climate is mild with south and east facing slopes offering natural protection against late afternoon sun. Cooling breezes from the Atlantic Ocean ensure rich, slow growing crops. Soils are predominantly medium textured and well-drained with good water holding capacity.

Vineyards (Viticulturist: Bennie Liebenberg)
The grapes were selected from a single vineyard on a south-east facing slope in the Bottelary Hills region. The 12-year-old vineyard produced a yield of 8 tons/ha while the 3-wire Perold system was used for trellising. The vines received a supplementary irrigation at the varaison. Pest and disease control was implemented according to South African subjective IPM standards.

about the harvest: The grapes were handpicked between 24Âº and 25Âº Balling at the end of February.

in the cellar : In the cellar the juice fermented on the skins for 8 days at 28ÂºC. After fermentation the wine underwent malolactic fermentation. It was matured on the fine lees in new casks of French oak for 18 months and was racked every month, for 3 months. The wine received an egg white fining and was bottled without any filtration or stabilization.

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