Thelema Merlot 2009
A wonderfully balanced, juicy, up-front red with smoky fruit flavours, and surprisingly firm tannins.
Maturation
WIll develop well for 6 years from vintage date.
Food Pairing
Mushroom risotto, rich pastas and grilled meats.
Winemaker's Comments
Juicy, upfront red fruit and concentrated flavours, backed up with surprisingly firm tannins. Wonderfully balanced.
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Tasting Notes
Viticultural Practices
| Varietal | Merlot – clone 192 and 348A |
|---|---|
| Root stock | R99/110 |
| Soil type | Hutton – decomposed granite |
| Age of vines | Planted 1988 and 2000 |
| Plant density | 2460 – 3200 vines per hectare |
| Trellising | Vertical hedge |
| Pruning | 2-bud spurs every 12cm |
| Yield | Approximately 10.9 t/ha |
| Irrigation | Supplementary drip |
| Vintage | Like 2008, there was a late start to the 2009 harvest. Long, moderate to dry warm spells led to near perfect ripening conditions. Possibly one of the best vintages the Cape has seen. |
| Picking date | 4th – 9th March |
| Grape sugar | 24.6 – 25.7 °B |
| Acidity | 5.0 g/l |
| pH at harvest | 3.4 |
Winemaking Practices
| Yeasts | Natural occurring yeasts |
|---|---|
| Fermentation temp | 27 °C |
| Method | De-stalked, hand sorted, crushed, pumped into stainless steel fermenters, cold soak for 2 days, pumped over twice a day for 5 days, generally with an aerated pump over in the morning and a closed circulation in the afternoon. After fermentation the wine is left on the skins for two days before pressing and then racked to barrel for malo-lactic fermentation. |
| Wood maturation | 18 months in French oak barrels, 40% new, balance in older barrels. |
Wine Details
| Residual Sugar | 1.5 g/l |
|---|---|
| pH | 3.67 |
| Total acid | 5.2 g/l |
| Alcohol | 15.09% by volume |
| Maturation | 2011 – 2018 |
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Looking for an older vintage? Please contact us for more information.