This item has been added to your cart

Merlot

The 2021 Majella Merlot is dark damson in colour with a bright ruby hue. Plum and mulberry flavours mix with briar and mint, all set within a medium-weight context. There's vanillin oak on the palate but it takes a back seat to the freshness of the fruit.

Aging Potential: 8 years

Winemakers: Bruce Gregory and Michael Marcus

Specifications:
Variety:	100% Merlot
Region:	Coonawarra, South Australia
Harvest:	Early April

Majella Merlot 2021

Majella Merlot was first produced in 2004. Estate grown from a single vineyard, Quarry block, it is only made in exceptional years.

Winemaking

Fermentation was completed in 300 litre barrels and the wine was then aged for a further 15 months in French oak.

Vintage Conditions

The 2021 Vintage in Coonawarra has the hallmarks of an incredible vintage, with superb conditions and fruit of outstanding quality and quantity being harvested.
It was an extended vintage with picking of white varieties beginning in late February. The peak harvest for the region began in early April, following the Easter break, and continued until mid-May when the last of the regions’ signature variety was harvested.
The season was mild with very stable weather conditions. The temperatures during the growing season were mild with only minor fluctuations and no major rainfall events.
Dry conditions continued right through summer, and consequently, berries remained relatively small with thick skins. Coonawarra did receive several small rainfall events during the growing which was beneficial to the general vine health and soil moisture.
These climatic conditions lead to long and steady increases in maturity levels, allowing winemakers to pick at optimum levels for ripeness and flavour.
The 2021 Coonawarra vintage was free of disease, drought, and smoke taint. Based on the mild summer, and the colour and aromas that are coming through in the finished ferments, 2021 points to an exceptionally good vintage with lovely firm acidity in the whites and good fruit expression and tannins across all reds, which at this early stage, will translate into wines that have excellent cellaring potential.