Collection Merlot

Please note: Award stickers are applied at the producer's discretion and may not be present on all bottles.

The grapes were picked at 24.8° balling early February when the pips were brown, and grapes phenolic ripe tannins. The berries were crushed and cold-soaked for about 48hrs at 15°C, and then inoculated with suitable yeast that would bring out the best of the varietal. The must was fermented in stainless steel tanks with aeration every 4 hrs to extract all the colour and flavours from the fruit. Fermentation took around 5 days at temperatures between 22-27°C after which it was lightly pressed and matured. Before bottling a small portion of oak matured wine was blended with to add extra complexity.

The 5ha vines were planted in the year 2000 with 2.5m row spacing. Soils consist of weathered granite on a clay base. The vines are drip-irrigated to ensure optimal ripening and trained on a 5-wire Perold trellis system. Vines benefit by having the cool breezes from the nearby Atlantic Ocean (False Bay) during the ripening season. Post harvest 2023 Stellenbosch had a cold winter with above average rainfall and sufficient cold units for the vines to rest. Slightly warmer temperatures end Aug led to even budding and slow initial growth. End September saw strong winds and heavy rainfall which slowed things down again. No significant amounts of rain towards Feb. With these conditions harvest was about 10days earlier than normal. White wines show good intensity and reds of high quality. Overall, the yields were down by 10%.