Analysis:
Alcohol: 14.5% | PH: 3.76 | Titratable acidity: 6.16 g/L
Bottling Date: August 2014
Cellaring: 5-10 Years
Tasting Notes:
The 2012 Merlot displays captivating notes of blackberry, damson plum, dried orange peel, vanilla and cocoa mingled with sweet Christmas spices. It is a full bodied red that offers a plush mouthfeel loaded with concentrated flavours of stewed plum, blackberry, mocha and toast with some cedar spices on the long complex finish. The tannins are well integrated and supple with a hint of grip that provides structure for the lush and opulent fruit. Try with braised lamb shanks served with a Merlot and fig reduction or vegetarian options such as caramelized root vegetables or Eggplant Parmigiana.
Wine Making:
2012 made for a great growing season giving warm temperatures without being too hot. Optimal conditions allowed the grapes to bring sugars and acids into perfect harmony. The grapes were allowed a long hang time contributing to their phenolic ripeness. The grapes were harvested by hand from Burrowing Owl’s vineyard on Black Sage Road at the beginning of November. They were destemmed and gently crushed before being fed by gravity flow into stainless tanks for fermentation. After completion the wine was given time to settle on its skins for further extraction. Both free run wine and pressed wine were then moved into barrels for malolactic fermentation. It was aged in barrel for 20 months which helped integrate the complex flavours and soften the tannins before bottling.
