Vintage Report 2013
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Merlot 2013
Despite a wet winter, the season 2012-13 was characterized by drought. Only during the harvest month - unfortunately - we registered untimely rain. So on the one hand, we had to deal with the danger of sunburn, while on the other hand we had to cope with the onset of botritis, which had to be carefully sorted out at harvest. With 600 gr/m2, the overall yield was smaller than usual, but the resulting fruit after sorting was beautifully ripe, with at the same time moderate alcohol potential. The resulting wines are accordingly elegant and complex, with exquisitely ripe and tender tannins. Complemented with a bit of Petit Verdot and Malbec from neighboring vineyards, they present themselves aromatic and complex, ripe and supple, with well composed structure. As Ingrid says, like an elegant, well-trained thoroughbred horse: fit to race!
After careful evaluation, we differentiated our reds of this vintage eventually into two different wines, producing 6800 bottles of Bein Merlot 2013 and 2900 bottles of Little Merlot 2013.
- Bein Merlot 2013: Produced from the best
batches of our vineyard and matured in 50% new / 50% second fill
barrels, this wine pleases with balance and complexity; supple
texture and at the same time dense structure; sweet cherry aromas, finely
underlined with delicate toast aromas of chocolate and coffee.
Alc 14.2%, TA 5.45 g/l, pH 3.6
Expected maturation potential to 2021 - Little Merlot 2013 : Made of grapes from medium
vigorous parts of our vineyard, combined with a cautious maturation
regime in older barrels and a gentle egg white fining just before
bottling, this Little Merlot is more fruit driven and
earlier accessible.
Release August 2014. Alc 14%, TA 5.6 g/lt, pH 3.59
Recommended drinking pleasure: best till 2018 - Pink Merlot 2013: a dry rosé, harvested 4 weeks
earlier than our red wines
and deriving from the vigorous parts of our vineyard,
this wine exites like every year with red berry aromas and crisp
freshness. Bottled end of May 2014 in 3470 bottles, for early
drinking pleasure, best consumed till end 2015
Alc 13.0%, RS 4 g/l, TA 4.6 g/l, pH 3.27
Detailed Vintage Report : Season 2012 - 2013
May 2014: Bottling of the red wines
As always, our red wines are matured for one year in traditional oak barrels. Of course, the wine doesn''t just lie there; it goes through profound maturation processes. To make sure that it develops to perfection, it is supervised like an ICU patient and tasted and analyzed on a regular basis. In addition, each barrel is "racked" three times, i.e. the wine is syphoned from the deposit that naturally forms on the bottom of the barrels. The barrels are then washed and sulphured for disinfection. Finally, the wine goes back into the barrels. This process clarifies the wine and simultaneously allows it to take up some oxygen, which is beneficial to its development.
Last but not least, we blend the different batches according to their
quality, also experimenting with additional varietals, which we source from
neighboring winemakers. So this year, we blended our Merlot with a little bit of Petit Verdot and a splash of Malbec, resulting in two cuvees, the Bein Merlot and the Little Merlot.
Again, no Reserve Merlot has been produced from this vintage.
End of May 2014, we finally bottled the wines. The new Little Merlot
2013 is available after a short rest from August 2014, while the Bein
Merlot was allowed to mature for another few months before its release.
May 2013: Bottling of Pink Merlot
Fermentation of the rosé juice was done over 3 weeks at 15 degree C.The wine was allowed another 8 weeks on the lees, which we believe gives the final wine its roundness and mouthfill. The rosé was then racked, cold stabilized and filtered for the first time. At the end of May, it was bottled and soon afterwards released for early drinking pleasure.
March-April 2013: Harvest time!
As we do every year, we differentiated our vineyard in quality sectors by
means of multispectral aerial imagery and we harvested accordingly. Having
brought in the fruit for the rosé already at the end of February, we
harvested the crop for
the red wine between 22 and 27 March. The weeks in
between, however, were a bit worrying. Although with generally mild
temperatures and cool nights, a short heat wave right at the beginning
of March and some showers continued to bother the grapes, on the one
hand with sunburn on the exposed berries and on the other with some rot.
Even the sugar accumulation slowed down, so we waited as long as
possible. Luckily, we could once again bring in the fruit just in time
before the first real autumn rains set in.
Yet careful sorting was imperative, which improved the quality but of course reduced the
quantity to just under 600g per square meter. What finally
arrived in the cellar was of superb quality. The fruit was evenly ripe and very tasty,
with sufficient acidity and a pH of 3.6. And the sugar
content was positively moderate of 23.5-24.5 Balling. After fermenting
for about 10 days on the skins in stainless steel tanks, the wine was
transferred into French barriques.
January-February 2013: Ripening time
January was as dry as the preceding four months, but the rich soil
water reserves apparently held out, so comparatively little
irrigation was needed despite the on-going drought. Temperatures were
mild and especially night temperatures were noticeably lower than usual.
Veraison set in exactly two months after flowering, i.e. on 15 January,
and was just as even and quick. It was as if someone had
flipped a switch, and within a few days, the grapes had changed from
green to dark blue!
On 9 February, a downpour brought some relief, and ripening progressed
well. We had harvested the grapes for the rosé on 28 February, as early
as never before, yet the fruit was tasty and sweet.
September - November 2012: Early Summer
After a rainy winter with 35% more rain than usual, the new vintage
began in mid-September, slightly later than other years. The weather was
initially quite mild and the soils well supplied with water, so budding
was even and fast. By the end of September, we had to "sucker" for the
first time, i.e. remove excessive buds. On 19 October came a moment
of shock, with 39mm rain within one day and at times dense hail, but
fortunately only with relatively fine hailstones, so that no damage
occurred. This was the last precipitation for the
following months.
Flowering started this year on 16 November and was so in sync that
within only a few days, the spectacle was over. This is a good sign,
because it promises an even ripeness at harvest. Well that this delicate
phase was over so quickly, because it was followed by a time of strong
winds, which inflicted considerable damage in other parts of
Stellenbosch, especially in exposed positions and on late-ripening
varieties.
June - August 2012: After the rain comes the sun
Winter in Stellenbosch can be rainy, cold and miserable. But when the
sun comes through, it is simply miraculous. Spring brings about flowers
all over the place, and the birds show off in the most beautiful colors.
View some of these miracles in the video below:
Previous reports have been condensed to vintage reports for each year and can be looked up there!
