4.1/5
Thelema Merlot 2021
£24.95 incl. VAT
5 in stock
Deep cherry-red with a lifted nose of red and dark fruit, plum, dark chocolate and cedar spice. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, layered and complete — ripe plum and blackberry fruit, fine-grained tannins, savoury oak and a long, mineral finish. A benchmark Cape Merlot from the Simonsberg slopes.
2021 Vintage — Stellenbosch, South Africa
Thelema Mountain Vineyards sits on the upper slopes of Simonsberg, one of the coolest and most respected terroirs in Stellenbosch. The estate was pioneered by Gyles Webb in the 1980s and has become one of the Cape’s benchmark producers for classical red varieties. Their Merlot has long been celebrated as one of South Africa’s most consistent expressions of the grape — polished, structured and unmistakably site-driven.
The 2021 is sourced from decomposed-granite soils at 400–500 metres above sea level, where cool mountain air slows ripening and preserves natural acidity and freshness. Grapes are hand-harvested, gently destemmed and fermented in open-top tanks with careful cap management. The wine is aged for around 18 months in French oak barriques, a portion new, before bottling.
