Picked when fully ripe and fermented in our old open fermenters with hand plunging through fermentation. The ferment is monitored carefully so as to get all of the colour without extracting too much firm tannin. The maturing wine picks up lovely rich spice and toast characters from 22 months in French oak barriques, 10% new, before filtration and bottling.
When crafting Merlot we aim for a soft medium-bodied wine to showcase the soft plummy fruit character. The 2017 Merlot has a bright purple colour and aromas of ripe red berry fruit and some mocha oak notes. On the palate the fruit is soft and balanced by soft fine tannins.
Merlot is rightly popular because of its versatility with food, especially tomato-based dishes and lighter meats. It will pair well with a range of Italian dishes, especially tomato based ones and also responds very well to the earthy, savoury flavours in roast chicken, mushrooms and parmesan cheese.