Winemaker Notes
Bouquet: The nose of this youthful wine is dominated by an intense showing of ripe plum and cherry aromas. This is backed-up by toffee and mocha which is extracted from the oak.
Palate: This wine offers up-front fruit and a good length of cherry flavors. The ripe fruit is complemented by an elegant chocolate flavor. This juicy and chewy wine offers a medium to long finish which is provided by its intriguing balance of fruit flavor and complexity.
This intense, fruit-driven example of a South African Merlot was made for early enjoyment and will improve over the next 2 to 3 years.
Food pairing: Confit of duck and peanut spring rolls with soya and plum dipping sauce; prawn and calamari sauté with tomato concasse and chermoula served with warm couscous, olive and feta salad; seared tuna macerated in a ginger and soy dressing, served with deep-fried oysters in chickpea batter, surrounded by truffle foam; red wine poached pear and gorgonzola salad with rocket and roasted nuts
With generous fruit and supple tannins, Merlot is made in a range of styles from everyday-drinking to world-renowned and age-worthy. Merlot is the dominant variety in the wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol, where it is often blended with Cabernet Franc to spectacular result. Merlot also frequently shines on its own, particularly in California’s Napa Valley. Somm Secret—As much as Miles derided the variety in the 2004 film, Sideways, his prized 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is actually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
With an important wine renaissance in full swing, impressive red and white bargains abound in South Africa. The country has a particularly long and rich history with winemaking, especially considering its status as part of the “New World.” In the mid-17th century, the lusciously sweet dessert wines of Constantia were highly prized by the European aristocracy. Since then, the South African wine industry has experienced some setbacks due to the phylloxera infestation of the late 1800s and political difficulties throughout the following century.
Today, however, South Africa is increasingly responsible for high-demand, high-quality wines—a blessing to put the country back on the international wine map. Wine production is mainly situated around Cape Town, where the climate is generally warm to hot. But the Benguela Current from Antarctica provides brisk ocean breezes necessary for steady ripening of grapes. Similarly, cooler, high-elevation vineyard sites throughout South Africa offer similar, favorable growing conditions.
South Africa’s wine zones are divided into region, then smaller districts and finally wards, but the country’s wine styles are differentiated more by grape variety than by region. Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, is the country’s “signature” grape, responsible for red-fruit-driven, spicy, earthy reds. When Pinotage is blended with other red varieties, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah or Pinot Noir (all commonly vinified alone as well), it is often labeled as a “Cape Blend.” Chenin Blanc (locally known as “Steen”) dominates white wine production, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc following close behind.