OVER THE TOP? Perhaps. But while there are very few occasions when you can feel relaxed talking about a No. 1 rather than a Top 10, say, surely this is one of them. The 2015 vintage of Mount Bullet from Shannon Vineyards was judged Best Merlot in South Africa’s 2018 National Wine Challenge and awarded top score in Winemag’s annual Merlot Report. Remarkably though, these are only the latest couple of accolades for this wine – made from grapes grown on the farm of the Downes family in Elgin before being taken to the cellar of Newton Johnson in the Hemel-en-Aarde for pressing and fermenting et al.

The track record of Mount Bullet over the past 10 years is unrivalled in terms of the SA Wine Classification – the only Merlot among the Top 100 overall, the only Merlot in the Top Wine SA Hall of Fame. In 2017, the 2014 vintage earned a gold medal at the Six Nations Wine Challenge and 5 Stars in Platter’s SA Wine Guide. Before that, the 2013 rated 5 Stars in Platter’s and the 2012 double gold at the Michelangelo Awards, gold at Six Nations and was included in the Sommeliers Selection SA. The 2011 achieved 4 Stars in Classic Wine Magazine and was Highly Recommended in Platter’s. The 2010 vintage won double gold at Michelangelo and inclusion in the Sommeliers Selection. 2009 was Highly Recommended in Platter’s, with the 2008 and 2007 rated 5 Stars and Highly Recommended in Platter’s while also notching up good reviews from the panel of South Africa’s Wine Magazine back in the day.

Shannon Mount Bullet 2015
100% Merlot. WO Elgin. Grapes from a 3ha vineyard planted with five different clones (the five different parcels vinified and matured separately before blending). Bunches chilled and berries hand-sorted. Cold maceration and (mostly) natural fermentation. Matured in tight-grain, medium-toasted 225-litre French oak barrels for 20 months (20% new, 50% second-fill, 20% third-full and 10% fourth-fill).
Alc 14 | R/S 2.5 | TA 6.6 | pH 3.34
Among the winemaker’s tasting notes: plums and dark cherries with earthy complexity; outstanding freshness; silkiness and elegance.
R395 pb from Shannon Vineyards