Keermont Vineyards is a specialist wine estate set in the naturally-formed amphitheatre between the Helderberg and Stellenbosch mountain ranges. All grapes used in producing our wines are grown on Keermont Vineyards. Most of the vineyard parcels grow on deep red clay rich soil derived from sandstone and granite and are surrounded by indigenous vegetation. They lie between 250 and 400 metres above sea level at the top of the valley between the Stellenbosch and Helderberg mountain ranges and have a variety of aspects from North East to West facing. Our two Merlot vineyards are High Road with heavier clay and more rocky soils (altitude 330m) and Homestead with lighter loamy soil (altitude 260m). The wines from High Road are generally more dense and concentrated and from Homestead slightly lighter and more elegant.
Small batches of grapes are specifically selected according to ripeness, harvested by hand and vinified separately. This process is carried out gently with minimal intervention in open top fermenters using traditional methods only. This wine spent 19 months maturing in seasoned French oak barrels before being bottled by hand without fining and only light filtration on 3 October 2023. A total of 10269 bottles and 50 magnums were produced.
TASTING NOTE
The Keermont Merlot 2022 has a classic venetian red colour. Enticing spicy red fruit on the nose with hints of tea leaf, dried herbs, dust and mixed berries. Classical elegant, fruitful palate with dark plums, cherries and some smokey notes. Fine tight tannins and fresh acidity hold the wine into a long savoury finish. Best drinking: 2026-2035.
VINTAGE REPORT
2022 will go down as a very successful and plentiful vintage at Keermont. On paper it was a vintage of two halves. The first half of the season was very cool and wet. We recorded the wettest winter since starting to farm Keermont Vineyards in 2005! These conditions led to good growth in the early season and we had to work hard to keep up with the strong growth. By Christmas time we could see that we had a lovely looking crop of grapes ripening on the healthy green vines.
After Christmas the weather changed completely and we had a hot and dry run into harvest. The grapes, which we thought were going to be harvested late, ripened quickly under the healthy conditions. Harvest started on 1 February and quickly picked up tempo and before long we were going flat out picking grapes and processing in the cellar. The vineyards consistently delivered good yields and the winery tanks filled up fast. We pressed our biggest vintage ever in the Keermont Winery: just over 90 tonnes of healthy, estate grown fruit!
BLOCKS
|
BLOCK
|
VARIETY
|
PLANTED
|
YIELD
|
%
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Homestead
|
Merlot
|
2007
|
10.9 ton/Ha
|
50%
|
|
High Road
|
Merlot
|
2009
|
12.0 ton/Ha
|
50%
|
ANALYSIS
Alc: 14.5%
pH: 3.59
TA: 5.1 g/L
RS: 2.4 g/L
TSO2: 84 mg/L
VA: 0.83 g/L
ACCOLADES
MERLOT 21: 87 pts NEAL MARTIN (Vinous)
MERLOT 21: 4 ½ stars PLATTER’S GUIDE
MERLOT 21: 93 pts TIM ATKIN (MW)
MERLOT 20: 4 ½ stars PLATTER’S GUIDE
MERLOT 20: 88 pts NEAL MARTIN (Vinous)
MERLOT 20: 90 pts TIM ATKIN (MW)
MERLOT 19: 4 ½ stars PLATTER’S GUIDE
MERLOT 19: 87 pts NEAL MARTIN (Vinous)
MERLOT 18: 93 pts TIM ATKIN (MW)
MERLOT 18: 90 pts NEAL MARTIN (Vinous)
MERLOT 18: 90 PTS CHRISTIAN EEDES (Wine Magazine)
MERLOT 18: 90 pts JAMES SUCKLING (MW)
MERLOT 18: 4 ½ stars PLATTER’S GUIDE
MERLOT 17: 87 pts NEAL MARTIN (Vinous)
MERLOT 17: 89 PTS CHRISTIAN EEDES (Wine Magazine)
MERLOT 17: 4 ½ stars PLATTER’S GUIDE
MERLOT 16: 4 ½ stars PLATTER’S GUIDE
MERLOT 15: 4 stars PLATTER’S GUIDE
MERLOT 15: 91 pts TIM ATKIN (MW)
MERLOT 15: 86 pts NEAL MARTIN (Wine Advocate)
