Stellenbosch Merlot

Crushed and de-stemmed fruit, pumped over during ferment.

The winter of 2021 was very cold and wet following a warm autumn. Bud burst was late and the cold, wet weather continued into Spring, requiring careful disease and canopy management. The cool, wet weather extended until the middle of December, delaying the growing season for the red varietals in Stellenbosch. From the middle of December onwards the weather warmed up considerably with three heatwaves being experienced in January and one in February. Despite this warmer weather the red wine harvest required patience as the tannins took some time to fully ripen. March and April were moderate temperature-wise and we experienced the odd shower. Our decision to delay harvesting was rewarded with excellent concentration and ripeness in the red wines. The marathon vintage ended in late April and was the biggest and longest vintage in Rustenberg’s history.

Aged 11 months in 20% new and 80% 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th fill French 225L barrels.