Plaisir De Merle Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Colour: Brilliant with fresh green tinges.
Bouquet: Tropical fruit, with aromas of green figs, green peas and a touch of floral peach blossoms. The enticing nose carries through to the taste and holds its own all the way.
Taste: It is fresh and crisp with green flavours of green figs and nettles in the initial flavour followed by the mouth filling sweet, ripe tropical flavours. It has a long and lingering aftertaste.

Enjoy with a variety of light dishes such as a seafood salad, pastas or fish - or it's a delight served chilled on its own.

variety : Sauvignon Blanc [ 100% Sauvignon Blanc ]
winemaker : Niel Bester
wine of origin : Coastal
analysis : alc : 13.0 % vol  rs : 1.6 g/l  pH : 3.22  ta : 6.8 g/l  
type : White  style : Dry  
pack : Bottle  closure : Cork  

ageing : This wine will develop well even after 12 to 24 months. It is beautifully fresh to enjoy now.

in the vineyard : 
The vintage
The summer of 2009 had mild temperatures in the early months of ripening - extremely favourable conditions for the production of 'greener' flavours in Sauvignon Blanc grapes.

The vineyards
The diversity of the soils, slopes and elevations is closely linked with the quality of Plaisir de Merle wines. Well-drained weathered granite soils (predominantly Tukulu and Hutton) with good water retention allow minimal irrigation with most vineyards dry land. The vines, ranging in age from 8 to 25 years old, were grown in Hutton soil between 300 m and 500 m above sea level on the south-eastern slopes of the Simonsberg.

Grapes were harvested by hand and sourced from four different vineyards. Due to the cooler conditions at higher altitudes, the grapes have more intense green pepper and green fig flavours. The older vineyards, which are planted on the intermediate slopes, produce grapes which are more tropical in character. With the younger vineyards situated about 500 m above sea-level, the grapes provided the higher concentration of cool climate 'greener' flavours - herbs, grass, nettles, peppers, winter melon and even green peas. The older vineyards added the riper spanspek, peach, tropical, more floral, almost peach blossom flavours.

The result was a combination of crisp 'cooler' flavours, with that of the indigenous 'buchu' and tropical character that evolved from the older vines giving more weight and mouth-feel to the wine.

Viticulturist
Freddie le Roux

about the harvest: 
Grapes were harvested by hand and sourced from five different vineyards. Due to the cooler conditions at higher altitudes, the grapes have more intense green pepper and green fig flavours. The older vineyards, which are planted on the intermediate slopes, produce grapes which are more tropical in character. The younger of the two vineyards was harvested early in the season and, while the older vineyards were allowed to reach a higher level of maturity before the grapes were harvested.
 
The grapes were harvested by hand at between 22.1° and 23.8° Balling in February.

in the cellar : The combination of grapes sourced from different vineyards gives this wine an interesting backbone. A limited period of skin contact (virtually nothing to a maximum of four hours) followed and the juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks at 13°C for 21 to 24 days. The wine was left on the lees for another two months and received no wood contact.

Total production of 2009 vintage: 35 000 litres

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