Boschendal Merlot (1685 Series) 2020

The grapes originated from various high-quality vineyard sites around Stellenbosch and Elgin and, when blended, these specific vineyards’ profiles provide the inherent nuances for the character of this wine. The vineyards ranged in age from 7 to 25 years old and were planted on a variety of soils. Shoot thinning, bunch thinning and green harvesting were all done in the vineyards to promote tannin ripeness and maximise the fruit aroma expression. The vineyards were handpicked during the early mornings in March, and all the grapes and bunches were sorted in the vineyard to ensure that no green or unripe berries reached the winery. A further berry sorting was done at the winery just after crushing to ensure that only the most perfect berries reached the fermentation tanks. After hand-harvesting and destemming, the berries were mechanically sorted to remove any green and to allow only clean and healthy berries into the fermentation tank. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks and every vineyard was handled differently to promote its individual unique natural terroir expression. Extended skin maceration was practiced on some of the wines originating from more robust soils. Wines from cooler-climate vineyards will go through malolactic fermentation in stainless steel to promote the expressive blueberry notes associated with these sites and also to bring freshness to the mid-palate. The wine was aged in 100% French oak 300L barrels. 20% New wood.