WINES

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

MERLOT 2000

Ripe plum with ruby rim. The nose shows ripe fruit flavours, spice and a touch of chocolate. The ripeness of the fruit is balanced by a fresh fruit acid and soft wood/fruit tannins. The aftertaste is long and lasting.

	AWARDS
	International Wine Challenge 2004 : Bronze International Wine & Spirit Competition 2003 : Silver International Wine Challenge 2003 : Bronze Fairbairn Capital Trophy Wine Show 2003 : Bronze John Platter Guide 2003 : 4 Stars
	Origin
	All the grapes sourced from Vergelegen from our ìKopland, Stonepine, Korhaan and lower ìSchaapenbergî vineyards. Two clones were used, a French Bordeaux clone and the Italian clone. Merlot is planted on north to northwesterly slopes but Kor
	Vinification
	The fruit is picked at peak physiological ripeness to avoid adding acid or extracting hard tannins. Fermentation took place at 28?C and lasted 7 days. Further maceration of 2 weeks took place before the new wine was run off into barrels for malolactic fermentation. The Merlot received 5 rackings in total to aid the evolution of the tannins. The wine was matured for 20 months in small French oak barrels.
	Composition
	97 % Merlot 3 % Cabernet Franc
	Analysis
	14.7 % Alc 3.1 g/l RS 5.9 g/l TA 3.39 pH
	Maturation
	Accessible after one-year bottle maturation but will last at least 6ñ8 years.

WINES

MERLOT 2000

AWARDS

Origin

Vinification

Composition

Analysis

Maturation