Thelema Merlot 2011

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 with just the right amount of tannin. Hints of dark chocolate on the finish complete this wonderfully balanced wine.

All Vintages

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 10.8 t/ha
Irrigation	Supplementary drip
Vintage	Warm and windy vintage the driest season in some years with different varietals ripening at the same time making it a tough harvest for the winery crew
Picking date	22nd & 23rd February
Grape sugar	24.7 °B
Acidity	5.2 g/l
pH at harvest	3.5

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, 30% new, balance in older barrels.