Vintage report 2020
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Merlot 2020
Summary: Compared to the previous vintage, the vines
started better into the new season. Although the total amount of winter
rains was still below the long-term average, it was sufficient and the
dams are at least two-thirds full at the start of the growing season.
Also during spring, the weather conditions were favorable, which
contributed to a somewhat earlier, but even budding and eventually a
good canopy development.
During the summer, temperatures were generally moderate, and even during
the midsummer ripening period we had not registered any of the otherwise
characteristic hot days. These are good conditions for optimal fruit
development.
Accordingly, the 2020 harvest began a little earlier than other years
and brought about very healthy grapes of top quality. The resulting wines
were correspondingly good, and we produced once again our top
wines Bein Merlot and Merlot Reserve, but no Little; of course beside
our always popular Rosé :-)
- Bein Merlot 2020: Harvested on March 5th, 2020,
it is a worthy representative of our flagship wine. It is
complemented with a "pinch" of Petit Verdot and matured for one year
in 30% new, 70% second and third-fill barrels. After a year of
bottle maturation, this vintage will be
available in several sizes, i.e. in magnums, normal bottles and also
in small 375ml bottles:
- 4390x0.75lt, 1380x0,375lt, 363x1.5lt
- Alc 14.7%, RS 2.45 g/l, TA 5.17 g/l, pH 3.69 - Merlot Reserve 2020: Harvested on 5th of March
and complemented with a dash of Petit Verdot from a neighbouring
vineyard, it was matured for two years in 100% new French oak
barrels from top cooperages, resulting in a very complex wine with a
strong character, rich and full-bodied. Due to high demand, this
wine has been released earlier than usual, but will profit from
further bottle maturation.
- Production: 2660 x 0.75Lt bottles
- Alc 14.8%, RS 1.8g/l, TA 5.3g/l, pH 3.63 - Pink Merlot 2020:Like every year, this rosé is
made of specifically dedicated fruit from the lusher parts of our
vineyard, identified within our vineyard by aerial imagery, complemented with a dash of Muscat d'Alexandrie from a neighbouring
vineyard.
- Serve chilled, ideally at 5-8ºC, enjoy young
- Production: 3265 x 0.75Lt bottles
- Alc 12.8%, RS 3.2 g / l, TA 4.8 g/l, pH 3.50
Vintage Report 2019-20
March 2020 - Main harvest
A perfect autumn 2020 in the Cape Winelands produced an evenly ripe and particularly healthy crop on our farm, and we finally harvested the Merlot grapes for our red wine on March 5th under ideal conditions. Quantity was a bit down in comparison to long-term numbers, but quality was great and the young wines are really promising, with great concentration, intense colour and luscious aromas. The video will tell you more:
February 2020
This vintage has so far been rather unusual, with moderate temperatures -
except for a few 35-degree C days - plus unusually high winds in
January. Rain is still in short supply, but the regional
water dams have enough reserves so that we could
irrigate where needed. And the vineyard approved it, looking healthy
and strong.
As always, the rosé harvest marked
the beginning of our harvest season, this time on 12th of February,
slightly earlier than other years. Quality and quantity was significantly better than last year.
2020 is a jubilee year: 20 Years Bein Merlot!
(Music: Thorsten Eden
www.diepullies.de)
November/December 2019 - early summer
The early summer of this vintage is characterized by nice weather and moderate
temperatures, perfect for us and the vines. However, we saw no rain for
weeks and were already afraid that the drought in recent years would
repeat itself. But at the end of October, a decent cold front brought
some good 80mm of rain, enough water for flowering and the subsequent
important growth phase. After all, the vineyard developed a strong
canopy and a good, balanced fruit load.
In line with the early budding, Veraison started earlier, and the first
red berries appeared just before the New Year. Accordingly, we expect
harvest to be around 10 days earlier than our long-term average.
September/October 2019 - Spring
After a dry August, our vineyard started with a "half empty tank" into the new season. Luckily, a good rain on September 11 brought about 25mm of precipitation, and budding started evenly, though somewhat earlier than usual.
August 2019
Weather in August was mostly sunny and again, comparatively dry. So WATER remained the topic No. 1 for the farmers in the Western Cape, even if the dams of the area are now 66% full - after all, 6% more than the previous year.
June - July 2019
We had to be patient, but eventually the winter rains arrived. Although not as much as it used to be 5-10 years ago, but at least the dams of the area were already 60% full by the end of July. In-between bright-sunny winter days, ideal for vineyard work: It's pruning time.
Previous reports have been condensed to vintage reports for each year and can be looked up there.
