La Motte Millennium 2010

Equal amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc dominate, to create the Bordeaux profile for which this wine is known. For the first time, though, Shiraz was added for more complexity and it is probably responsible for the hint of aniseed. The wine is intense on the nose, with cherry and mulberry fruit together with cinnamon spice. Wood maturation has enhanced a toffee and caramel presence. Very smooth and juicy on the palate.

Ideal with any sumptuous meal. Best served with red meats, game, roasts and noble, matured cheese.

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variety : Merlot [ 24% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Cabernet Franc, 16% Shiraz, 11% Malbec, 7% Petit Verdot ]

winery : La Motte

winemaker : Jacques Borman

wine of origin : Western Cape

analysis : alc : 13.86 % vol rs : 2.9 g/l pH : 3.51 ta : 5.8 g/l

type : Red wooded

pack : Bottle closure : Cork

AWARDS

2012 Veritas Wine Awards - Bronze Medal
Michelangelo CCL Label International Wine Awards 2012 - Gold
Old Mutual Trophy Wine Show 2012 - Bronze
Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2012 - Silver Medal

in the vineyard : Origin
This wine originates from vineyards in the Walker Bay (54%), Swartland (32%), Elgin (7%) and Stellenbosch (6%) regions. Grapes from each of these regions make a unique contribution to the flavour components.

Vintage
Veterans in the wine industry described 2010 as one of the most difficult in their career. Winter conditions were not ideal for good budding. Cold and rain hampered budding further and, together with wind, bunch denseness was severely impeded. Wind caused physical damage, late rains caused fungus diseases, late dry conditions reduced the already light yield even further and a heat wave in March had a slightly negative effect on flavours.

Viticulture
Each vineyard grows in its own macro climate in a wide variety of soil types. Several clones are represented. All the vineyards are trellised according to the Perold system and managed to maintain a perfect balance between leaf coverage and yield. Thanks to the different terroirs, each region produces its own distinctive grapes, so grapes from each region make a unique contribution to flavour and structure. The grapes originating from Walker Bay are organically grown.

in the cellar : Grapes for the wine consist of 24% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Cabernet Franc, 16% Shiraz, 11% Malbec and 7% Petit Verdot. Before and after de-stalking, all the grapes were hand-sorted. The de-stalked berries were cool-soaked for two to three days, before inoculation with selected yeasts. Fermentation was at between 25° - 30° C. After fermentation the wine was left on the lees for a further 20 days in order to enhance extraction and body. Malolactic fermentation was partly in barrels.

Maturation
The different components were matured separately for 16 months in 225-litre French oak barrels – 30% new and 70% older barrels (the barrels originate from different forests in France). Then, blending followed. 20 000 cartons (6 x 750 ml) and 500 magnums were bottled on La Motte in November 2011, to be released as 2010 La Motte Millennium.

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