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.

Winemaker's Comments

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.

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Tasting Notes

Viticultural Practices

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

Winemaking Practices

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

Wine Details

Residual Sugar	2.3 g/l
pH	3.65
Total acid	6 g/l
Alcohol	14.75 % by volume
Maturation	2011 – 2020

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The Current Range

Thelema Cap Classique 2017

92 POINTS - TIM ATKIN SOUTH AFRICA SPECIAL REPORT 2023