Kweekskool Merlot

Beef tagliata, arugula and Trevisana salad.

The 2021 vintage followed a cool, wet winter, where regular cold fronts replenished water reserves to pre-drought levels. Moderate temperatures throughout the growing and ripening seasons meant that grapes ripened slowly, retaining acidity while phenolics developed fully. The wines of the 2021 vintage show good promise, with high natural acidity and a good concentration of fruit flavours, indicating quality wines with good ageing potential.

Malolactic fermentation took place in barrel, after which the wine matured in seasoned French oak for 12 months. Individual parcels of Merlot are vinified separately and blended before bottling.

Fermentation completed in open-top stainless-steel fermentation tanks. During fermentation punch-downs and pump-overs were performed four times daily to ensure balanced extraction of colour and flavour. After fermentation a further 14 days of maceration on the skins was allowed.

Jean Engelbrecht along with his friends Dillie Malherbe and Jannie Durand set out to create a wine that would not only embody all that is Stellenbosch but that would also pay homage to this great town at the heart of the Cape winelands. Each wine in this range pays tribute to an historical landmark in Stellenbosch.