Cape Heights Merlot

Tasting Note
Lush, ripe and deep in hue this is plump and sensuous Merlot with flavours of hedgerow fruits and a fine, gently leafy finish.

Producer Details
Thanks to long-standing relationships with growers, the producer has been able to consistently source the best parcels of fruit and successfully establish the Boutinot South Africa style and standard always developing and improving quality. This means working in the vineyards, selecting the best sites, overseeing the winemaking. Responsibility for this task now falls to their South African winemaker Marinda Kruger Van Eck and their range encompasses three different and very characterful styles - Cape Heights, Percheron & Mon Vieux. They are proud "affineurs of wines" in the Cape and dedicated to continuing to produce versatile, expressive, food-friendly wines from this fascinating region.  

In The Vineyard
Grapes are sourced from long-established vineyards on the Wellington/Swartland borders, an area of low rainfall with mainly decomposed granite soils. The vines are low-trellised.  Grapes are picked in mid-March, de-stemmed and placed in open top fermenters. Pigeage is carried out four times daily (whilst up to half of the sugar is fermented), then only twice daily to the end of fermentation - this is a soft delicate way of wetting the cap and aerating the wine. Malolactic fermentation follows before the wine is left on its lees to extract extra depth and soft tannins. A touch of elegance is achieved by using a modest amount (10%) of oak.

In The Winery
As they look for bright, juicy varietal fruit, the wine is VERY gently (10%) wooded.

Food Recommendations
Grilled lamb, pasta with a tomato-based sauce, chorizo and butterbean stew, spicy sausages.