Pale yellow with grey reflections. Candied fruits dominate the nose with a good deal of minerality. Somewhat thick and fatty texture with residual sugar that compensates the bitterness in the mid-palate, leading to a round finish.
Shows mellow, ripe, developed plum with rounded tannins, milk chocolate and spice with a firm touch of tannic grip on the finish. This is a mature wine that should be drunk soon.
Aromas of rose petal and spice precede a fresh, well-balanced palate. Tropical flavours, lychee, spice and ginger hints are underpinned by a well-balanced acidity through a fresh, clean close. Textbook Gewürz from one of BC’s (rapidly) “emerging regions.
Soft on the sides, sappy on the palate and snipped on the finish, this Merlot is sourced from vineyards 20-60 km from the coast in Swartland, Paarl, Overberg and Stellenbosch. Fruit from these 17- to 19-year-old-vines were cold soaked and fermented in stainless with ample pump overs. Post-ferment, 20% saw time in stainless, with the remainder in contact with wood staves. Plum and cherry jam dominate, with some wet wood, medicinal cherry on the back end, choked out with spice. Though blocky in form, the soft sides and jammy fruit will attract many cushy Merlot fans.
Just over 20% of the fruit was botrytis-affected (BA) and after wild fermentation it reached 30 g/l of residual sugar. The nose is unlike anything else you will whiff in Niagara with notes of wild alfalfa honey, creamy pear, wild flowers and cantaloupe. It’s viscous on the palate with super ripe fruits, and concentrated with honey and spice that comes at you in layers.
Dense purple-black in colour with a cedary, plum and blackcurrant nose enlivened with vanilla oak; full-bodied, dry, richly extracted sweet black fruit flavours; good mouthfeel and firmly structured.
Copious amounts of strawberry and cherry jam, raisins, plums and cocoa leap out of the glass and onto the taste buds. It is luscious with excellent length. A top-notch stickie!