Muratie Alberta Annemarie Merlot 2022
R250,00
Redolent 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) 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.
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Specifications
In the cellar
The grapes were handpicked, yielding 4.5 tons per hectare. They were then crushed, destalked and pumped into traditional open fermenters. Pump-overs and punch downs were done at regular intervals. The wine was matured in French oak barrels for 12 months.
In the vineyard
The Muratie Merlot was harvested from three different blocks on the estate. The vines were planted in 1990 and 1992. Two of the blocks are North West facing and the third North. The elevation of the vines is at 280 m above sea level. The
Table Mountain sandstone soil provides good moisture to these dry-land vineyards. All the vines are planted on Richter 99 rootstocks.
Ageing
12 months
Cultivar
Merlot
About the Wine Estate
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.
