Description

ABOUT THE PRODUCER:
Established by Bob and Cherie Berton in May 1996, Berton Vineyard is one of Hallgarten’s most important partners. The estate covers 30 hectares of land located on gently rolling hills at 450 metres above sea level, in a subregion of Eden Valley in South Australia. The superb Reserve Shiraz and Reserve Chardonnay wines are still sourced from this plot. In 2007, Bob purchased the Yenda winery in the heart of the Riverina. This state-of- the-art facility has the capacity to process 20,000 tonnes and enables Berton Vineyard to produce value for money wines which sit alongside their premium single vineyard offerings.

ABOUT THE VINEYARD:
The age of the vines is varied. The vines are planted approximately 1.8 metres apart with 3.6 metres between the rows to allow machinery access. All vines have been spur pruned and are trellised on a single wire cordon. The loam to clay-loam soils have moderate to high fertility.

THE WINEMAKING PROCESS:
The parcels of fruit were fermented separately in stainless steel potters at temperatures of 26 to 30°C with premium French toasted and untoasted oak. An extensive pumpover regime took place to ensure the desired levels of extraction. Fermentation lasted four to six days before being pressed at 1° Baume and it was left to ferment through to dryness. The best parcels were selected and the wine went through malolactic conversion with French oak resulting in a softer expression. The wine was cold stabilised, clarified and stored in stainless steel to retain the freshness.

OUR TASTING NOTES:
This Merlot has a deep youthful colour with expressive aromas of plum, blackberry and violet. The palate has a velvety texture with generous flavours of sour cherries, plum and fragrant herbal notes with a hint of vanilla oak.

GRAPE VARIETY:
Merlot 87%, Other Varieties 13%.