I am a fan of the wines of Jordan, in Stellenbosch. For a few reasons, one being the palpable conviction and intelligence of the owners. Another being the fact that they introduced me to the fact that machine harvesting can be a reasonble thing (when you use a very expensive and intuitive machine – one that costs more than the farm in some cases).
I loved drinking their Merlot 2002, a dry and tantalising wine. It was not the biggest or the boldest, and it had a vegetative streak that I enjoyed in the face of that vintage’s monster extracted, sweet wines. The 2003 is the current vintage and initially I was enjoying it less – it’s ramped up a few notches from 02, now bigger in structure and with more bold fruits. I also found it a little clumsy on release. The other day I had a few glasses over lunch and I am again falling for its charms. Many pundits slam Cape merlot, I often find it a more accurate reflection of the skill the cellar has. It’s a variety that doesn’t really react well to the blandishments of big oak and extraction. You’ll get a drinkable wine, but very obviously confected. Merlot, more than Cab, doesn’t hide the truth.
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