De Muller Merlot – De Muller

Harvested at night to take advantage of cooler temperatures (10°C). Destemming and cold maceration before fermentation for 5 days at 8°C in stainless steel vats to extract as much fruit character as possible. Manual pumping-over of the pomace cap with two daily pump-overs, one in the early morning and one in the late afternoon. Slow, controlled fermentation at a maximum of 28°C (82°F). The wine is racked to barrels for malolactic fermentation, followed by 12 months aging in American oak barrels (50% first fill, 50% second fill).