Aspect Merlot

Rich Beef and Lamb dishes, tomato-based stews and curries. Biltong and aged cheeses.

“We would like people who drink our wines to experience the estate our soils our slopes our vines and our terroir. Wine should be experienced and not merely drunk and we endeavour to make every bottle of our wine a memorable experience. We believe wine is made in the vineyards and our goal is to allow the vineyards to express themselves by interfering as little as possible. As a result we have adopted a minimalist approach in both the vineyards and the cellar. The idea being to minimalise the human influence on the final product. In the vineyards we do everything by hand from pruning to harvesting. We are also proud members of the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative and of the Integrated Production of Wine Scheme. We have set aside 30% of the estate and dedicated it to the Western Capes indigenous flora and fauna. The goal in the cellar is to facilitate the production of wine from grapes and not merely manufacture wine. This is again done by following the minimalist approach of nothing added apart from a small amount of SO2 prior to bottling. All grapes are hand sorted in the cellar to remove m.o.g. (material other than grapes) and unripe grapes before they go to tank. Wild or naturally occurring yeasts are allowed to ferment the grapes before the wine is drained off the skins and allowed to mature in French oak barrels before being racked and bottled.

Made from our estates highest and steepest vineyards. The south westerly ASPECT ensures the vineyards are exposed to the prevailing summer breezes off the sea which cool the vineyards down in the afternoons and evenings. This in turn gives the grapes more time to ripen. This block is planted on a band of Malmesbury shale that runs through the farms top 3 vineyards. This shale is the oldest soil type in South Africa and one of the oldest in the world. Due to leaching of the soils over millennia they are not very fertile and therefor limit the vigour of the vines and increase resulting quality of the grapes. The vineyards yield between 5 and 6 tons per hectare and were planted in 1998.

Maturation then takes place in 225 liter French oak barriques for 24 months. 30% new oak is used with the remainder made up of second and third fill barriques.

The grapes are hand harvested and sorted twice in the cellar, as bunches and as berries. Fermentation then occurs spontaneously in 7000 liter French oak tanks, followed by a post fermentation maceration on the skins of 30 days.