Nederburg Merlot, WO Western Cape

Description

Nederburg Merlot is 100% Merlot is produced from grapes grown in top-performing vineyards situated in the Darling, Cape Town and Stellenbosch wine-growing areas of the Western Cape.

Nederburg has a long wine-making history stretching back over 200 years to 1791 when Phillipus Bernadus Wolvaart was granted ownership of 49 hectares of land, in what is now Paarl, by the Dutch East India Company. He called his new property Nederburgh and immediately set about clearing land and planting vines. By 1808 he had planted over 63,000 vines laying the foundations for what was to become the wine company we know today. Nederburg has changed hands many times through the years but was owned by the large South African wine and spirit company, Distell, for many years. Most recently, in 2023, Distell was taken over by Heineken and integrated into Heineken Beverages, a company created by the merger of Distell and Namibia Breweries. Since 2021 the team at Nederburg has been led by cellar master, and seasoned winemaker, Samuel Viljoen. he is ably assisted by winemakers Zinaschke Steyn, Imellia Prins and Jamie Williams. Nederburg remains one of South Africa’s most awarded wineries and their wines display a hallmark combination of fruit and finesse.

As mentioned above, the grapes for the Nederburg Merlot are sourced from vineyards situated in the Darling, Cape Town and Stellenbosch wine-growing areas. The vines are grown in granite and sandstone soils with good water-holding capacity, resulting in grapes with a higher natural acidity and resulting freshness. Open vineyard canopies bring about greater sunlight penetration of the grape bunches, contributing to a well-balanced acidity, in turn contributing to better tannin structure and fruit expression as well as deeper colour intensity.

Grapes are harvested in the early morning. On arrival at the cellar, the fruit was gently crushed and fermented on the skins in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks at 25º C for 10 to 14 days. Additional oxygen was given during fermentation to add to colour intensity and realise a more polished and accessible tannin structure. Malolactic fermentation was strictly controlled and bacteria inoculated to enhance freshness and vibrancy of flavour. The wine was left on the fine lees after blending, for increased freshness and longevity. Oak trials were done on each vineyard block and a significant portion of the wine was fermented in French and American oak barrels for a period of 15 months, with the final blend aged in big oak vats to add to the complexity of the wine, achieve better oak integration, as well as for a more expressive nose and palate.