Thelema Merlot Reserve 2010
This wine is a blend of the best parcels within our merlot vineyards. A wine well structured and showing extraordinary concentrations of ripe berries and cedar wood. Will reward cellaring.
Maturation
Will continue to develop well for 8 years.
Food Pairing
Mushroom risotto, rich pastas and grilled meats.
Tasting Notes
| Varietal | Merlot – Clone 192 |
|---|---|
| Root stock | R99 |
| Soil type | Hutton – decomposed granite |
| Age of vines | Planted 1988 |
| Plant density | 3200 vines per hectare |
| Trellising | Vertical hedge |
| Pruning | 2-bud spurs every 12cm |
| Yield | 10 t/ha |
| Irrigation | Supplementary drip |
| Vintage | One of the more difficult vintages in recent years. Warm spells of weather, with random rainy periods during the ripening period. |
| Picking date | 3rd& 8th of March |
| Grape sugar | 25 °B |
| Acidity | 4.73 g/l |
| pH at harvest | 3.48 |
| Yeasts | Natural occurring yeasts |
|---|---|
| Fermentation temp | 27 °C |
| Method | De-stalked, hand sorted, crushed, pumped into stainless steel fermentation tanks, cold soak for two days, and pumped over twice a day for 5 days, an aerated pump over in the morning and a closed circulation in the afternoon. After fermentation the wine is left on the skins for 2 days before pressing, once pressed wine is racked to barrel for malolactic fermentation. |
| Wood maturation | 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels |
| Residual Sugar | 2.3 g/l |
|---|---|
| pH | 3.65 |
| Total acid | 6 g/l |
| Alcohol | 14.75 % by volume |
| Maturation | 2011 – 2020 |
This wine is a blend of the best parcels within our merlot vineyards. A wine well structured and showing extraordinary concentrations of ripe berries and cedar wood. Will reward cellaring.