kunst.stück Merlot DOC 2018

Vintage

Overall, the weather was very good in the 2018 wine-growing year. Precipitation in winter and spring provided sufficient moisture and thus ideal fruiting conditions. Long hours of sunshine and above-average temperatures in summer and autumn led to very dry conditions compensated by some heavy thunderstorms in August. Thanks to the optimum weather conditions in late summer, it was possible to harvest a healthy and ripe grape crop.

Tasting notes

– Intensive, deep ruby red, with violet nuances when young. – Crisp fruit, Mediterranean spices, thyme and oriental notes; plus sweet and aromatic notes of oak. – A wine for great thinkers or for those who like to travel, preferably in their thoughts. Fine tannins, sweet and the typical elegance of Merlot combined with a long and hearty finish.

Recommendation

We are all on a quest to discover ourselves and our tastes. The search begins or ends where we feel emotions, according to the laws of nature and the senses. Taste the wine, let your palate guide you and find the food pairing that best suits the occasion and the moment. We tried it in combination with crispy roast belly of pork with lentils with a balsamic reduction.

Vinification

We are convinced that in the case of great red wines, vinification has little influence on the final result. The grapes are what really matters; vinification is simply the tool used to translate the quality and expressiveness of the grapes into wine. The best winemaker is the one who deviates least from the course on the long journey from the grape to the bottle: fermentation at 30-32°C with maceration on the skins for four weeks in large oak barrels. About 10% of the grapes were dried in crates for three weeks. Malolactic fermentation and aging for 18 months in barriques (100% new) followed by slight filtration at bottling.

Vineyard

Two vineyards were chosen for this edition of kunst.stück. The first is located at about 350 meters above sea level on a south facing slope with moraine soil with porphyry layers. The second is situated at a lower altitude, at about 260 m a.s.l., on a south-east facing slope, with calcareous, stony soil with a high clay content.