Amatra Merlot 2009

One of our pioneering ladies in the wine industry is the vibrant Cathy Marshall who has successfully been making excellent wines either as a consultant for other wineries or under her own label for many years. In 1997 she started her Barefoot Wine Company (BWC) which grew from humble beginnings with a handful of friends and family who at harvest time would join in to press the grapes barefoot. These annual BWC “foot-stomps” became a sort after annual event with wine enthusiasts having to “book” their spot months in advance! Over the years BWC has grown enormously but a decision in 2007 was to label her limited volume premium wines under Catherine Marshall Wines and the BWC wines will now focus on a new range of easy drinking affordable red and white wines.

Despite all this the tireless Cathy was approached by a group of investors to form another partnership with Catherine Marshall Wines. The purpose of the new venture was to produce a range of wines which offered character, style and ultimate drinkability. Named Amatra, which is an old Sanskrit word used by the ancient Persians referring to the vessels in which their ritual wines were stored, their first wine is the 2009 Merlot.

The 2009 Amatra Merlot’s grapes are sourced from the cool climate Elgin region where the fresh and vibrant purple fruit flavours and well balanced acidity are reflected. Cathy believes in natural and minimalist intervention in the winemaking process and the Merlot was matured in older 225 litre French oak barrels for 16 months. The result has given the wine enticing fresh fruit flavours along with enhanced aromatics.

Elegantly presented in a screw top bottle the wine was too good just to drink on its own so we enjoyed as well with spaghetti bolognaise.

Buy now for R77 per bottle