Local Merlot – you love it or loathe it based on the growing conditions and terroir of South Africa. The winemakers at De Toren have mastered the art and are celebrating with their 10th vintage of De Toren Z.
De Toren Z has received local and international awards and excellent ratings from respected wine publications locally and abroad.
Wine and terroir talk
All five varieties used in the De Toren Z Merlot-dominated Bordeaux blend (Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot) are grown on a False Bay-facing slope in the Stellenbosch Winelands.
This wine comes from the creators of the acclaimed Fusion V and is also produced in the De Toren Private Cellar.
The Bordeaux region of France is naturally divided into Left Bank and Right Bank areas, and this is the basis for the critical difference between Fusion V and Z. Fusion V is a Left Bank-inspired blend that evolves through stages of tastings, whereas Z is a Right Bank-inspired, terroir-driven wine.
This scientifically-based project was initially labelled ‘Project Z’ due to the extensive research and planning involved, but eventually became known simply as De Toren Z.
The winemaking team wanted to replicate nature by aligning rootstocks and cultivars to specific soil parcels in individual vineyards and planting clones over five varieties to produce this unique Merlot blend.
The name De Toren comes from the tower on the estate which enables them to use gravity rather than pumps to process their grapes. This process is much more gentle, and De Toren believes in treating their product gently, from the grapes to the finished wine.
Celebrating a decade
To celebrate the 10th vintage, the team have bottled a 100% Merlot from this single vineyard and have named it the ‘De Toren Decade’. Only 1,760 individually-numbered bottles have been produced and will sell via the mailing list for R400 per bottle.
OF NOTE
Where De Toren Private Cellar, Polkadraai Road, Stellenbosch
Cost R400 per bottle (only 1790 bottles available)
Contact +27218813119, [email protected], www.de-toren.com
Photography courtesy