Catherine Marshall Myriad 2003 - 375ml

Integrated flavours of cherries and red berries from Pinot and ripe black plums from Merlot. Lingering warmth from oak matured spirit supports velvety fruit texture.

Vinification: The Pinot Noir grapes were selected from a cool Stellenbosch site. Clone DJ 113 on east-west facing low trellised systems. Grapes were harvested by hand selecting the best bunches. Fruit was very concentrated. Cooler temperatures allowed for more even ripening. The Merlot grapes were selected from a warm site in Agter-Paarl. The grapes were allowed to ripen to full maturity. De-stemming was done by hand and grapes foot crushed resulting in a whole berry component of about 50%. Local commercial yeast was used for alcoholic fermentation (3 days). Daily punch down and pump-overs were done for flavour and to enhance colour extraction. The partially fermented, mash was fortified with three year old cask matured cognac. The fortified wine was hand pressed using a small, traditional basket press. The wine was hand fed to 225 litre barrels and matured for 36 months. The wine was bottled and labelled by hand.