Angove Organic Merlot 2021 (Australia)

Angove Organic Merlot 2021 (Australia)Striking dark ruby red. Raspberry and plum characters abound. An intriguing palate of dark red fruits is complemented by subtle use of oak providing extra depth of character. The grapes for this wine were sourced from Angoves own Nanya Organic vineyard located near the township of Paringa. The soil is a relatively shallow red sandy loam over limestone, on top of a cliff overlooking the picturesque Murray River. The vines are mostly single cordon lower

Striking dark ruby red. Raspberry and plum characters abound. An intriguing palate of dark red fruits is complemented by subtle use of oak providing extra depth of character.

The grapes for this wine were sourced from Angove’s own Nanya Organic vineyard located near the township of Paringa. The soil is a relatively shallow red sandy loam over limestone, on top of a cliff overlooking the picturesque Murray River. The vines are mostly single cordon lower yielding vines, which the winemakers have noticed to be quite resilient in adverse conditions. Whether it is due to the organic practices being used or the site itself, the vineyard produces rich textural wines.

What a Vintage! Following all of the challenges 2020 threw at us it was satisfying to enter the 2021 season with our vineyards in near perfect condition and Mother Nature smiling down on us. Good winter rains set the vines up for the perfect start to the growing season with mild conditions continuing through from budburst to flowering. This allowed for good, even fruit set and low disease pressure. The relatively mild conditions continued through veraison and onto ripening with only a handful of days over 35 degrees Celsius. As the fruit ripened on the vine we knew we would be crafting the best wines of the decade (it is year 1 after all). Harvest began in late January and continued in and even, unhurried pace into late March with all varieties looking simply stunning.

The grapes for this wine were picked at night to make sure that they were as cool as possible. Crushed to ‘sweeparm’ and rotary fermenters the grapes were then allowed to macerate for 2 days before inoculation and fermentation. The wine was pressed off skins 7 days later and allowed to go through the second malolactic fermentation, with then had minimal handling prior to filtration for bottling.

Food Pairing: A pot roast with horseradish mashed potatoes or vegetarian lasagne.