Mills Reef Reserve Gimblett Gravels Merlot 2019

Description

• French oak
• Plum & boysenberry
• Dark chocolate
• Silky mouthfeel

"Produced from vines planted in the Bridge Pa Triangle subregion. The grapes went through a short cold soak before fermentation, where twice daily pump overs were used to extract colour,flavour, and tannin. Aged for 14 months in French oak including 30% new barrels. You don’t come across many straight Merlot wines, I blame that movie Sideways, but I do love them and this one is truly lovely. The aromas are an amazing combination of dark and red plum, with the slightest hint of juicy pomegranate, dark cocoa, and smoky spice. The delicious aromas carry on to the silky palate and linger long after the wine is gone. I could drink this wine with anything, but best suited to duck pasta or risotto" Angie Atkinson, The Wine Writer

"Aromas and flavours of sweet red berries and plums, some soft barrel spices of vanilla and dark spices. A core of fruit leads the palate flavours with contrasting youthful tannins and acidity. Some red currant flavours emerge before the plum steps back in center stage along with some moderate wood flavours. Youthful, well made and ready to drink from end of 2021 through 2025" Cameron Douglas, Master Sommelier, Oct 2021

This full bodied Merlot sourced from premium grapes is opulent with plum, blueberry and boysenberry fruits with dark chocolate and toasty oak notes.  Velvety textured and layered, this appetising wine is ready for immediate enjoyment, or will reward judicious cellaring.

The grapes for this generous wine were grown in alluvial soils in the prestigious Bridge Pa Winegrowing District, on low yielding vines. The 2019 season begun with a hot dry summer which continued through into autumn. This enabled the single vineyard fruit to be picked at optimum ripeness and flavour profile. Harvesting occurred on April 3rd.

The grapes were gently crushed, allowing some whole berries to remain intact, with the resulting must then transferred into open-top and closed-top fermenters for a 4-day cold soak.  Fermentation proceeded with twice-daily aerated pump over of the cap for colour, flavour and fine tannin extraction. The resulting wine was racked once and aged for 14 months in quality French oak barriques (30% new wood).  The finished settled wine completed élevage in excellent balance and condition, allowing a light fining in order to retain maximum quality, complexity and intensity. Bottling took place September 7th under screwcap closure.

Food Pairing: Enjoy with your favourite red meat dish or antipasto.