2016 Claypot Merlot Organic

A new release of an old favourite. This is one of the pinnacle wines in our portfolio. The first vintage that was bottled was in 2005 as a small batch for the international renowned Hakkasan restaurant in London. Every year the wine is considered as one of the best examples of this difficult grape in South Africa. We, at Laibach pride ourselves that from vineyard to bottle Merlot is our stand-out grape. Consistently in yield and quality this grape seems to strive in our rich clay soils which we farmed organically with great respect to nature and old-style winemaking. This wine is made from a combination of two blocks on the farm. Organically farmed without irrigation, these two blocks work very well together. The younger block gives fruit and freshness and the older one structure and mid palate weight. We hand-picked the grapes and usually start around the 20th of February. We sort after destemming but before crushing and try to cool down the mash as much as possible for a pre-cold soak. Sorting is very important to get rid of all the green stems
that we do not want. We use open top fermentation tanks for extractions. No yeast or acid is added. Analysis is kept to a minimum. Fermentation temperature will be allowed to peak at around 30 and we do an extended maceration in some years. Malolactic fermentation is done in stainless and afterwards the wine will be racked off its gross lees and aged with fine lees for 14 months in 100% new French oak Francois Freres and Seguin Moreau barrels. The final blend will be made before bottling and sometimes older barrels are blended back in, to allow the fruit to show better. The wine is bottled with a sterile filtration and usually will spend at least 12 months in bottle before release. Deep dark colour. Hints of toast, dark chocolate and peppermint on the nose. Full bodied with oodles of crushed red fruits on the palate. Medium to full bodied with good expensive oak and lush velvety tannins. The wine shows the typical Laibach terroir with a chunky lingering aftertaste with great complexity and age worthiness. Drink 2020 till 2030.