There were 52 entries from 45 producers and 22 rated 90-plus on the 100-point quality scale.
The 10 best wines overall are as follows:
Boschendal 1685 2017
De Grendel 2017
Eagles' Nest 2015
Glenelly Glass Collection 2018
Le Bonheur The Manor Meander 2018
Nitida 2018
Remhoogte Aspect 2016
Shannon Vineyards Mount Bullet 2017
Vergelegen Reserve 2015
Vergelegen The Mistake 2015
“Merlot sometimes gets a bad rap for being sweetish, soft and nothing more but this line-up showed really well”, says Christian Eedes, chairman of the tasting panel and Winemag.co.za editor. “We are starting to see much better integrity of fruit to go with the variety’s characteristic smoothness of texture and the best examples are really luscious and velvety as only Merlot at its finest is able to be.”
To read more, go to Winemag.co.za.
To read the report in full, including key findings, tasting notes for the top wines, buyers guide and scores on the 100-point quality scale for all wines entered, download the following: Prescient Merlot Report 2020
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