WINES

Vergelegen's winemaking philosophy is simple : there must be harmony between the old and the new.

CABERNET SAUVIGNON - MERLOT 2008

Dark plum with a ripe nose of blackcurrant, blackberry, cedarwood, coffee and spice. The tannins are soft and ripe and the aftertaste full and long.

	Origin
	Sourced from north and north-westerly vineyards at Vergelegen, Somerset West, where soil types of granite, Hutton and weathered shale dominate. The 2007/2008 growing season was long and mild, leading to perfect physiological and even ripeness, allowing for harvesting at potentially lower alcohol levels.
	Vinification
	Grapes were hand-picked and cooled in refrigerated containers overnight to 8-10 ºC. Hand-sorting on vibrating conveyors followed destemming. The sorted grapes were left to cold soak in fermentation tanks at 8ºC for 10 days. A natural fermentation developed as the temperature slowly increased to 18ºC. After 2-3 days of natural fermentation, a pure cultured yeast was added and the temperature increased to 25-30ºC, critical for optimum colour and tannin extraction. After completion of the alcoholic fermentation the young wine was left for a further 7 weeks on the skins. This maceration process leads to softer tannins, increased complexity and colour stability. The wine was matured in 20% new French barriques for 16 months before bottling on 11 -27 August 2009.
	Composition
	45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc
	Analysis
	14.0 % Alc 3.1g/l RS 5.3 g/l TA 3.65 pH
	Maturation
	Drinking well now but will improve with keeping for a further 4-6 years. Serve between 16.5º to 17.5 º C