Tasting Notes
Deep ruby red. Notes of brooding ripe black plum, dark cherry, dried herbs underpinned by dark chocolate and oak spice. The palate offers a concentrated dark fruit core, balanced with a lifted acidity while still delicate on the finish. This wine shows the balance, intensity and fruit purity of the 2023 vintage and as with all Merlot’s from the estate, will age gracefully and will gain in complexity and suppleness of tannin for many years to come.
Ageing Potential
Ageing Potential – 10 - 15 years, provided wine is stored in ideal cellar conditions
In The Vineyard
Our Merlot is a true expression of the variety as grown on the Meerlust estate and draws fruit from two of our four distinctive terroirs. Each terroir provides a unique element to the final blend.
Compagniesdrift - The soils from this warm north facing slope are predominantly formed from weathered granite. The wines originating from this granitic hilltop are expressive and bold in structure, mainly due to the coarse gravelly texture and sufficient soil depth to promote long and even ripening.
The Quarry - The extremely rocky terrain consisting of greywacke with interbedded shales provides a unique substrate for vines. Shallow rooted vines on this cool and windswept foot slope leads to wines with characteristic red fruit with exceptional length, detail, and precision.
About The Harvest
Our growing season began mild and dry which was largely beneficial for earlier ripening varieties. It also limited berry size and yields which benefited our red varieties. The area experienced a cool ripening period in general, that aided early cultivars but could be problematic for late ripening varieties. We however saw rapid flavour development and the vast majority of our vineyards were harvested before the rains began in all earnest. This resulted in bright flavourful wines that show good levels of extraction at good pH and acidity levels.
In The Cellar
This vintage is 100% Merlot. It is made up of a few individual parcels that are all fermented separately before undergoing malolactic fermentation in 300 L barrels. After 6 months in barrel, the final components were selected and blended and put back to barrel for 12 months in 40% new French oak for further maturation before bottling.
