Muratie Alberta Annemarie Merlot 2018

Muratie Alberta Annemarie Merlot is strongly reminiscent of lusciously ripe plums in its youth. this wine has complex layers of cocoa, cinnamon and toasted hazelnut (from 12 months in French oak barrels, one-third new) that come to the fore over time. Its appealing sweetness and full-bodied richness are balanced by fresh acidity and a pinch of mixed herbs. Made in a soft and approachable style for early enjoyment, it nonetheless has enough backbone and plenty of length on the finish to suggest that it won’t disappoint those who wish to cellar it for 5 years. The artist George Paul Canitz was out horseback riding with his daughter Alberta Annemarie when they, quite by chance, discovered Muratie. They both fell instantly in love with the property, which he purchased in due course, and when he died he left it to her, making her one of the first female wine-farm owners in the country. A fiercely independent woman, she kept Muratie exactly as her father had left it, and she rode well into her 80s, eventually only stopping, she insisted, ‘because the horse is too old’. Like fine wine, she got better with age, making this Merlot, with its potential to become increasingly characterful over time, a fitting tribute.