Major Series Merlot

Herb grilled tenderloin fillets with mushroom Merlot sauce.

As one of South Africa's leading ambassadors and one of the most recognizable faces in the world of sport it is befitting that Ernie chose Stellenbosch to produce his wines. In 1999 the concept of Ernie Els Wines was born and with the help of award-winning winemaker Louis Strydom they produced the maiden 2000 vintage of Ernie Els - a 'classic' Bordeaux blend. The intention from the outset was to focus on delivering a quality product that could hold its own in the company of the world's finest wines.

The 2022 vintage will definitely be remembered as the year where we had good fruit set. After pruning, budburst came about two weeks later than expected. This resulted in flowering occurring in a period with cooler temperatures. More berries per vine means a good balance between reproductive and vegetative growth, and, because we restrict pruning to allow for a certain tonnage per hectare, we don’t overburden the leaves. Mild conditions allowed the vines to catch up nicely with warm days after veraison. The heat before harvest is very important for the development of red cultivars and especially for the premium quality of our Cabernet Sauvignon. The Merlot vineyards grow on the warm, north-facing slopes of the Helderberg region within the Stellenbosch appellation. With an altitude of approximately 250 metres above sea level, together with the cooling influence of the Atlantic Ocean, the ripening period can be extended, resulting in wines with phenolic ripeness.

Aged for 16 months in French Oak barrels (20% new)

Hand-picked bunches arrived at the winery in the early hours of the morning. The bunches were sorted and destemmed, after which the berries underwent secondary sorting via an optical sorter to ensure that only the ripe berries remained. These whole berries were fermented in open top tanks. Intermittent pump-overs and punch downs ensured a balance was achieved when extracting flavour, colour and tannins from the skins. All ferments were meticulously monitored during fermentation to ensure that the natural aromas and flavours were preserved. After primary fermentation some batches were left on the skins for an extended maceration period. The batches were pressed and transferred to various old and new oak for maturation. Each batch of Merlot was micro-vinified in barrels before blending and bottling took place.