Catherine Marshall WinesAmatra Merlot "The Oreads" 2016 (R83.16 per bottle, 6 bottles)
R499
About
Catherine Marshall Wines is an Independent Wine Company producing hand-crafted, premium wines in the Elgin Valley along the Cape South Coast. The vines are grown in cool climate conditions, produce intense, bright, pure and fresh wines of character. Catherine Marshall is the first eponymous range in South Africa to be released by a woman winemaker.
96% Merlot, Cabernet Franc 4%, Elgin Valley
Tasting notes
White peach top notes with fleshy ripe nectarines on the core and crisp green apple acidity fans out the tail on the finish. A rich, mid-palate of lanoline adds depth and French clone (348) Merlot exudes bright, fresh black plums. Plush purple fruit flavours are supported by a vibrant thread of fresh acidity from the addition of a small splash of Cabernet Franc to harmoniously balance the opulently textured mid-core palate weight.
Philosophy
To create a complex, mouth-filling wine from ripened clusters with purple fruit opulence and restrained tannin structure in cool climate conditions. Optimal vine ripeness and canopy management, in particular, are key to producing seamless Merlot that is perfectly suited to the Elgin Valley.
Vineyards
Vines grown on deep Tukulu soils (a mixture of sandstone, gravels and clay) on a drought-resistant rootstock, as Merlot is particularly heat-sensitive, are trellised on a five-wire fence system facing east. French clone 348 best suits this relatively warm site as it produces wines of elegance, bright purple fruit and purity. Cabernet Franc is from a warmer slope in the cool Elgin Valley and is grown on a shallow gravel top layer with clay underlying. Stringent canopy management is implemented, as the vigour of crop and leaf canopy is very high. Clusters are hand-picked towards the end of March in small batches of 18kg.
Winemaking
Clusters were de-stemmed and partially crushed after stringent sorting to remove unwanted berries and other matter. Spontaneous fermentation occurs in small fermentation vats for after about fourteen days and once primary fermentation is completed, the mash is pressed in a small basket press. The wine is then decanted to small French oak casks for secondary Malo-lactic fermentation and left to mature for 12 months. The final barrel selection is made and taken through a very light filtration prior to bottling. No finings are applied to ensure that the natural integrity and structure of the resultant wine is maintained.
Analysis
- Alcohol: 13.93%
- Acidity: 5.30 g/l
- pH: 3.56
- Residual Sugar: 3.0 g/l
- Total Extract: 30.0g/l
Recommended food pairing
The best cut of Beef, robust country pasta, char-grilled meat and hearty casseroles.
Recommended bottle maturation
In its youth, broad and bright purple fruit is forward and over time will evolve to stewed prunes, blonde tobacco and hazelnuts with seamless, mellowed tannins on the finish. Wine should mature for 8 to 10 years under optimal cellar conditions.
Accolades:
90 points Tim Atkin Report, 4* John Platter Guide
Writer's block
Ours is about 3 feet by 3 feet, and on our left is the account's block. The marketing block is down the hall.
We're joking. Obviously.
Ours is at least 5 by 5, and on Wednesdays we're allowed to write in coffee shops to maintain the illusion that we're "successful" and "writerly".
Coming up with a write up for the simple sake of a write up does, however, become difficult when we're staring complete lack of creativity right in the face. But apparently asking management to cancel all the deals for the day isn't a viable fix.
As they so delicately put it, it'd be like a comedian having the option to suddenly cancel a show if they're not feeling up to it. Not on our watch, they said. You'll do a write up whether you like it or not, they said. And be funny, they said.
So here we are, doing a write up and being funny.