Wednesday, 13 October, 2004
De Kock Communications
"Our Merlot is hot!" Martin Moore, winemaker at Durbanville Hills, is visibly excited about the double gold and two gold medals awarded to the cellar's Merlot at this year's Veritas Awards.
The double gold went to the single vineyard 2000 Luipaardsberg Merlot, a well-rounded wine that spent two years maturing in French oak. Its predecessor from the 1999 vintage also has a Veritas double gold to its name and the 2001, made from grapes from the same vineyard, promises to be a worthy successor although still in the cellar."
Two Veritas gold medals - one each for the 2000 Rhinofields Merlot from the reserve range and the 2001 Durbanville Hills Merlot from the premium range - complete the cellar's hat trick of awards for every Merlot in each of its three ranges.
Says Moore: "I prefer maturing Merlot, as I do all other cultivars in the reserve range, for a good few months or even years. The Luipaardsberg Merlot remained in the maturation cellar for two years, a little longer than the Rhinofields Merlot and the Durbanville Hills Merlot. This works wonders for the flavours and body of the wine," says Moore.
The limited release 2000 Rhinofields Merlot is a sophisticated and multi-faceted wine. The Veritas achievement of the 2000 vintage equals that of the 1999 vintage. Both vintages were made from grapes from the farms Klein Roosboom and Morgenster in the Durbanville Hills area.
This is the first Veritas medal for the bread-and-butter Merlot "and the fact that our 'entry level' Merlot got gold, proves South Africa's wine lovers, with whom the wine has been a hit from the day it was released, recognise a winner when they come across one," says Moore in his inimitable way.
In addition to Veritas gold stickers on the bottles and the extra time allowed in the maturation cellar, the three Merlots have another common denominator: the vineyards producing this varietal all lie on the cool slopes on the inside of the Durbanville hills. "Merlot thrives under these circumstances and we have no intention of changing the recipe," says Moore.
ISSUED BY De Kock Communications (DKC)
FOR Durbanville Hills
ENQUIRIES
Martin Moore, winemaker, Durbanville Hills, (021) 558 1300
Robyn Steer, Durbanville Hills brand development manager,(021) 809 7000
Ben de Kock/Erla Rabe, DKC, (021) 409 3700