1998 Temple Bruer Reserve Merlot

LEADERS OF THE ORGANIC WINE REVOLUTION.

The 1980?s witnessed great advances in winemaking technology whereas the 1990?s were the decade where viticultural practices took a quantum leap. One of the leaders of the viticultural Revolution are David and Barbara Bruer. They maintain that responsible winegrowers should also minimise chemical inputs into the environment. During the early 1990?s the pair moved into following fully certified organic grape growing practices by converting their 1973 planted vineyard. Trellis systems were also modified to maximise the interception of sunlight on the developing grapes.
The Bruers commitment to the environment does not stop with minimizing chemical outputs as evidenced by their nomination and acceptance of the Greenhouse Challenge. The challenge involved the comprehensive monitoring of all activities at Temple Bruer. Audits of CO2 emissions are being made and methodically put into place to determine contributing sources. David & Barbara are not only concerned about building a CO2 sink but are also striving to reduce CO2 output. Every aspect of their lives and vineyards are considered, even the amount of energy that is used to move water around. The recognition of the value of water has also seen experiments introduced with a new hybrid vessel called a Stakvat. These take the place of normal oak barrels and consist of a vessel made of four sides of stainless steel and two sides of new oak. The final result is very similar to that achieved by using new oak barrels, except only a nominal amount of water is required to keep the stakvats clean and without chemicals. What?s more, the stakvats are reusable and require less oak, thus preserving forests.
The 2001 ? 2002 growing season has also seen the introduction of a plan to eliminate the use of Sulphur from the vineyard and replace it with milk whey , vegetable oils and bicarbonates. Indigenous insects are allowed to thrive as are native birds. The viticultural practises are very responsible but a question needs to be asked ? are the wines any good? The answer is that they taste fantastic and of the four samples submitted to Vintage Direct, all scored exceptionally well, with the 1998 Reserve Merlot & 1999 Botrytis Riesling being the stars.

TEMPLE BRUER ARE GREAT GUARDIANS OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND DESERVE ENORMOUS SUPPORT FROM WINELOVERS. THE 1998 TEMPLE BRUER RESERVE MERLOT IS EXCEPTIONAL BOTH IN QUALITY AND VALUE.

TASTING NOTE: An outstanding example of Merlot, from last century?s best vintage. Very deep black crimson colour, with deep crimson hue - a wine of great concentration of flavour is anticipated. The nose is powerful and gaining complexity. ?Perfumed? notes of violets, new liquorice straps, mulberry and spice. The palate delivers on every expectation with wonderful concentrated flavours of mulberry, cedar, liquorice and spice. Fine grained tannins, perfect balance, followed by an exceptionally long mulberry, liquorice and spice aftertaste. An outstanding merlot.
Cellar 3-4 years (2005-2006)
Alc/Vol: 14.0%

RATING: 96/100

VALUE: XXXXX/5