About this WINE
Vondeling Wines
At the foot of the Paardeberg, this 40 hectare working wine farm, owned by Julian Johnsen, Anthony Ward, and Richard Gower, has a tranquil atmosphere with panoramic mountain and vineyard views with Table Bay and Mountain visible in the distance.
The area around Vondeling Wines is rich in indigenous fynbos and four species are unique to the Paardeberg mountain – Babiana noctiflora, Erica hippuris, Oscularia paardebergenis and Serruria roxberghii.
Their Baldrick Shiraz was initially only sourced from the younger vines, but as the vines are no longer so young, selections are now made from the blocks and clones which provide more aromatics and a more accessible palate. The vineyards are planted on well weathered granite derived soils on south and southeast facing slopes. In total six clones of Shiraz were planted, all making different contributions to the final wine which is notably for the purity and accessibility of its fruit, not always a characteristics of the Cape’s reds. And why is the wine named after Blackadder’s hapless (yet recently ennobled) sidekick? A cunning plan, no doubt.
Paarl
At 18,000 hectares, the Paarl wine district incorporates the wards of Paarl and Wellington and Franschhoek (where in 1688 fleeing Huguenots from France set up home, bringing winemaking skills and vines).
Being further inland, warmer and lower-lying than its neighbour Stellenbosch, the greater Paarl district is more inclined to produce gutsy wines from granite and clay soils, typically from the Shiraz and Chenin Blanc varieties.
Joostenberg Wines in Paarl and Boekenhoutskloof in Franschhoek are two impressive producers.
Merlot
The most widely planted grape in Bordeaux and a grape that has been on a relentless expansion drive throughout the world in the last decade. Merlot is adaptable to most soils and is relatively simple to cultivate. It is a vigorous naturally high yielding grape that requires savage pruning - over-cropped Merlot-based wines are dilute and bland. It is also vital to pick at optimum ripeness as Merlot can quickly lose its varietal characteristics if harvested overripe.
In St.Emilion and Pomerol it withstands the moist clay rich soils far better than Cabernet grapes, and at it best produces opulently rich, plummy clarets with succulent fruitcake-like nuances. Le Pin, Pétrus and Clinet are examples of hedonistically rich Merlot wines at their very best. It also plays a key supporting role in filling out the middle palate of the Cabernet-dominated wines of the Médoc and Graves.
Merlot is now grown in virtually all wine growing countries and is particularly successful in California, Chile and Northern Italy.
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Description
Enjoying the Atlantic Ocean’s cool south-westerly breezes, the Vondeling Estate has been co-owned and superbly managed by Englishman Julian Johnsen since 2001. Reds are planted on cool south west and eastern slopes to produce wines which are elegant rather than flashy. This Merlot is no exception, with a delicious balance of ripe red fruits and a savoury undercurrent evoking tobacco and graphite.
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