Product Description
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Varieties
Merlot
The Vineyard
All grapes used in producing our wines are grown on Keermont Vineyards. Most of the vineyard parcels grow on deep red clay rich soil derived from sandstone and granite and are surrounded by indigenous vegetation. They lie between 250 and 400 metres above sea level at the top of the valley between the Stellenbosch and Helderberg mountain ranges and have a variety of aspects from North East to West facing.
Despite prevailing drought conditions, it was a very good growing season on Keermont. A fairly cold winter although it was drier than usual. Spring arrived quite early and the warm weather ensured an even budburst. With some good rain showers during the season which allowed for the vines to grow sufficiently. These factors led to the formation of a healthy crop which ripened evenly. A very notable diurnal temperature variation during this season (warm days and cool nights) which is responsible for good tannin, colour, and flavour development.
The Harvest
Small batches of grapes are specifically selected according to ripeness, harvested by hand and vinified separately.
Harvest started at the beginning of February and ran very smoothly, whereby they processed 87 tons (13 varieties) in the Keermont winery over the period of seven weeks.
The Cellar
This process is carried out gently with minimal intervention in open top fermenters using traditional methods only. This wine spent 27 months maturing in seasoned French oak barrels before being bottled by hand without fining or filtration on 11 June 2020.
Alc: 15.0 %
pH: 3.65
TA: 5.2 g/L
RS: 2.0 g/L
TSO2: 78 mg/L
VA: 0.75 g/L
A total of 10847 bottles and 50 magnums were produced.
Aging Potential
5 – 15 years
Awards
MERLOT 17: 87 pts NEAL MARTIN (Vinous)
MERLOT 17: 89 PTS WINE MAGAZINE
MERLOT 17: 4 ½ stars PLATTER’S GUIDE
MERLOT 16: 4 ½ stars PLATTER’S GUIDE
MERLOT 15: 4 stars PLATTER’S GUIDE
MERLOT 15: 91 pts TIM ATKIN (MW)
MERLOT 15: 86 pts NEAL MARTIN (Wine Advocate)
