Oldenburg Vineyards Series Merlot 2018

Oldenburg Vineyards Merlot 2018, good with Alida Ryder’s Bucatini Amatriciana

Oldenburg Vineyards is situated in the Banghoek Valley on the Eastern side of the Simonsberg. This is a significantly cooler part of the Stellenbosch Wine Appellation to the benefit of the grapes which take longer to ripen, meaning greater colour and flavour in the resulting wines. 8 elements of nature come into play on the Estate, and these are depicted on the label.

Merlot is an old French name for a blackbird

The grapes were early picked by hand and hand-sorted, and then allowed a 3-day cold soak before fermentation. After fermentation, which included thrice daily pump-overs and pressing, the wine spends 18 months in 300 litre French Oak Barrels of which 14% were new. The wine was then prepared for bottling.

Oldenburg Vineyards Winemaker Nic van Aarde having a sniff in the cellar

Pour
From a Bordeaux shaped bottle, closed with natural cork. The foil over the cork is matt black and the label illustrates the 8 natural elements to which I referred earlier. In the glass, the wine is a deep plum red, which pales out to ruby at the edges. The aromas are of white flowers, berries when crushed with a fork, pine needles, plums, dark chocolate, and the oak with its concomitant spice and vanilla. The palate on entry is fresh with a lovely line of raspberry acidity which goes into the long aftertaste. Dark chocolate, black hedgerow berries and cherry tobacco fill out the rich and generous mouthful. An impressive glass. The wine will reward you even more after a couple of years of cool cellaring.

Alida Ryder’s Bucatini Amatriciana

Pair
With all its softness and accessibility, the Oldenburg Vineyards Merlot 2018 is an ideal sipping wine before or after a meal. Do chill it for about 30 minutes in an ice bucket. Alida Ryder’s Bucatini Amatriciana makes a perfect midweek supper dish as a partner to the wine. Click HERE for her recipe.

Alida’s popular cook book – Cook from the Heart