Thelema - Merlot, Stellenbosch - 2018 (750ml)

Wine Composition

100% Merlot

Winemakers Comments

The wine shows bright, red fruit and hints of spice on the nose, with concentrated flavors on the palate and soft, polished tannins. Hints of dark chocolate complete this wonderfully balanced wine. 

Awards

Tim Atkin | 93 points

Technical Analysis

Alcohol Percentage 

14.5%

TA 

5.6 g/l

pH 

3.48

RS

2.0 g/l 

Vintage

Cool nights throughout the growing season with dry warm days resulted in healthy grapes with smaller berries with great intensity of flavor.

Cellar Techniques

De-stalked, hand sorted, crushed, pumped into stainless steel fermenters, cold soak for 2 days, pumped over twice a day for 5 days, generally with an aerated pump over in the morning and a closed circulation in the afternoon. After fermentation, the wine is pressed and racked to barrel for malo-lacticfermentation. Wood maturation 18 months in French oak barrels, 30% new, balance in older barrels.

Winery

Thelema, situated on the spectacular Helshoogte Pass in Stellenbosch, is a family owned and managed wine estate and the home of Thelema and Sutherland Vineyards wines. Gyles Webb bought Thelema, a charming dilapidated fruit farm, in 1983 with the help of his wife’s family. Fruit orchards were pulled out and vines were planted. The manor house was restored and the first wines under the Thelema label were released in 1988. The ripe pure-fruited wines were a revelation to many and it wasn’t long before the romantic tale of a run-down old fruit farm became the success story of an avant-garde winery. By the mid 90's Thelema’s wines sold out within a month after release, making it one of the most sought-after wine estates in South Africa. 
The high altitude and the deep red soils are ideal for premium quality wine grape production.
"We do not buy in any grapes and all wines are bottled on the estate to maintain absolute control over every aspect of the wine production. The terroir in combination with Gyles Webb’s wine making style result in flavourful, flamboyant, complex and long-lasting wines with a distinctive South African character. In 2000, Gyles moved into the role of cellar master and handed over the winemaking duties to the talented Rudi Schultz (one of the famous Schultz winemaking brothers). We hope you enjoy our wines and it would be a pleasure to welcome you at Thelema for a chat and a taste of our latest release."