"The hand picked Merlot bunches from the Whalebone Vineyard were destemmed and partially crushed (60% whole berries) and chilled to 1 tonne open top fermenters. The fermenters were sealed for a further week of maceration and then pressed directly to new French oak barriques to undergo malo-lactic fermentation on full lees.
The 2003 Whalebone Vineyard Merlot was deliberately left out of the initial Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard blend because it was too full bodied and firm, and distorted the balance of the Cabernet Shiraz blend. It was bottled separately and kept in bottle with the intention of allowing the wine's exceptional tannin structure to integrate with the fruit flavours and texture.
We have decided to release this bottle aged merlot as a mature example of the special qualities the Whalebone Vineyard can elicit from this variety."
Tapanappa Wines
Country:
Australia
Region:
SA- Limestone Coast
Variety:
Wine Red - Merlot
Size:
750mL
