Nederburg’s 2006 Merlot is very approachable in style and manages to be intense without being overpowering, says award-winning winemaker Razvan Macici. “It’s a generous wine in body and flavour but very elegant and smooth in texture, with supple tannins. Its fragrant berry and chocolate aromas announce a ripe and succulent palate with a light touch of oak vanilla spice.”

Created as a food wine, it is very versatile and matches up well to white and red meats, he believes. “It makes a delicious companion to autumn and winter dishes such as poultry or red meat casseroles. Try it in spring and summer, with grills and stir fries.”

Merlot has been steadily winning the attention and palates of South Africans in recent years, after a slow start. Although it made its local debut as a varietal wine two decades ago, it was most commonly used as a blending partner with Cabernet sauvignon to soften its profile. However, over the past few years, it has been building an identity in its own right and there are now just under 7 000 hectares planted locally.

“People love its lush fruitiness, soft tannins, accessible structure and easy-drinking qualities. Make no mistake, though. It might be easy on the palate but it isn’t always easy on the winemaker. It needs a lot of attention and is very sensitive to vintage variations.”

Macici says Merlot needs clay soils with good water retention properties to give of its best. “Warm summers, tempered by humidity and marine influences, have helped shape the finest Bordeaux Merlots and we have sought similar growing conditions locally with grapes coming from Darling, Stellenbosch and Paarl.

The grapes were harvested between 23° and 24° Balling during February and March and the batches individually vinified. The wine spent between eight and twelve months in a combination of small French and Romanian wood, aged in second- and third-fill barrels for subtlety of impact. “New wood would have been too overt. Older wood imparts just the right degree of wood spice,” Macici said

Presented in Nederburg’s new-look Winemaster’s Reserve packaging, it is expected to retail for around R56 a bottle.

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS

Alcohol 14.99 % by volume

Residual sugar 2.74 g/l

TA 3.45 g/l

pH - 3.5