Glass Collection Merlot

Grilled meat, steak, bacon and cheese.

Winter was late, but cold enough to break dormancy. Very low rainfall hence extremely low soil moisture levels which meant irrigation was key to relieving stress in the vineyard. Good spring which lead to good even bud burst. Warm weather for the season with little to no rain. This led to smaller berries and lower bunch mass although there were more bunches. The harvest was very earlier and was larger than previous year.

Matured for 12 months in French oak and rack on average every four months.

The grapes were hand sorted and lightly crushed into stainless steel fermentation tanks. They were given a cold soak for three days before allowing the natural fermentation to start. Three pump overs a day were done on the tanks during fermentation, after which they underwent extended skin contact for 2-3 weeks. The wine was placed in French oak barrels to undergo malolactic fermentation.

Winemaker Dirk and assistant Lehandri endeavour to make Glenelly wines as naturally as possible with wild yeast fermentation and little to no acidification. The team follows a minimal intervention approach to winemaking yet intensive sorting and care is taken when receiving the grapes. We use France’s most recognised coopers (mostly from Taransaud, Boutes and Sylvain) to ensure a gentle and precise elevage, preserving the identity of the terroir of Glenelly. Hygiene is of utmost importance in the cellar and a combination of both hot water and ozonated water is used for cleaning.