Two Oceans Merlot 2009 1.5Ltr

Winery: Two Oceans

Varietal: Merlot

With its dark blue colored fruits and high juice content, Merlot varietal grapes have long been a favorite of wine producers around the globe, with it being found in vineyards across Europe, the Americas and elsewhere in the New World. One of the distinguishing features of Merlot grapes is the fact that they have a relatively low tannin content and an exceptionally soft and fleshy character, meaning they are capable of producing incredibly rounded and mellow wines. This mellowness is balanced with plenty of flavor, however, and has made Merlot grapes the varietal of choice for softening other, more astringent and tannin-heavy wines, often resulting in truly exceptional produce. Merlot is regarded as one of the key 'Bordeaux' varietals for precisely this reason; when combined with the drier Cabernet Sauvignon, it is capable of blending beautifully to produce some of the finest wines available in the world.

Region: Coastal Region

South Africa is a fascinating country for wine, and the coastal regions at the very tip of the African continent are widely regarded as being one of the finest wine regions in the world. It isn't difficult to understand why the early European settlers in the 17th century saw such potential for viticulture in the area; the heat is fantastic, the summer days wonderfully long, the soil rich in minerals, and the strong winds coming from the ocean provide much needed coolness in which the grapes could ripen slowly and fully. Over time, South Africa's coastal regions became covered in strong, healthy vineyards, and today, the wine industry of the region is booming. The past few decades have seen wineries experimenting with a wide range of grape varietals, and also producing fortified wines and sparkling wines of great character alongside their classic varieties.

Country: South Africa

With its hot, long summers and oceanic winds from both the west and the east, South Africa is something of a haven for a wide range of imported grape varietals. Since the mid-18th century, the country has been associated with some very fine wines made using complex and careful blending techniques, with one of the most famous and widely loved early examples being constructed from Pontac, Muscadel and Chenin Blanc varietals. Since those colonial days, the regions around Cape Town have proven again and again to be fantastic areas for producing interesting and delicious wines, with many of the best examples of Champagne style sparkling wines originating from these fertile lands. From the scorchingly hot regions of Orange Rivers, to the far cooler and temperate appellations in Walker Bay, South Africa has developed a booming wine industry responsible for many of the finest New World wines available anywhere across the globe.