Day 23 13th March

As you already know, we refer to “Merlot” by it’s proper name “Merlot Noir”.

We quote Jancis Robinson vis: “Merlot, or more properly Merlot Noir since there is a distinctly different variety called Merlot Blanc….” (1) And given that our little patch of ancient gravel west of Orange in NSW is already in another world to the rather cloistered ferrous clays of Pomerol, it would be infra dig of us to also misname the variety..so we won’t. We agree with Jancis so Merlot Noir it is and Merlot Noir it will remain.

But back to this morning. With 5.9C overnight, we were greeted by the happy (sic) ghosts of John Keats

“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run”

Now we don’t do thatched eves here at Bloodwood however the Merlot Noir in this morning’s mist was loaded with a softly velvet mellow fruitfulness in the plum tending cassis manner and could be a winner from 2026.

After hand picking and de-stemming, the whole berries have been transferred to Fermenter 2 to cold soak for a couple of days while we look forward to the initiation of ferment.

And just for you, Jancis and John Keats, the initial analysis is 13.2Be; pH 3.35 T/A 5.9 g/l and as you can see from the sacrometer, even at this early stage, this velvety Merlot is every bit Noir.

(1) pp 91 Vines, Grapes and Wines ..RD Press 1986

As this vintage gets longer in the tooth and greyer in the beard, we become desperate.

This unlikely chap showed up in this fully electric ATV with a grape bin in tow and requested a job.

Even though he looked a bit dodgy, he explained that as he, like most of the world’s ICE drivers are now also experiencing extreme range anxiety, he would give anything to enjoy the two fingered pleasure of driving a solar energy powered electric vehicle all day in this glorious autumn sunshine.

As we quite like beards at Bloodwood we gave him a power wash and a go provided he stopped raving on about diesel prices and petrol shortages.

After a massive week in the vineyard and winery, we are exhausted.

We are exhausted and we need to sit down. We are exhausted, we need to sit down and no, we would not like our photo taken.

We are exhausted, we need to sit down, we would not like our photo taken, and no, we are not amused!

This is the first bin of the day with 15 others to follow. Now I realise that his daily job is to carry and load up to 12 tonnes in 10 kg lots for the six long weeks of vintage around Orange, BUT!

Cheers,

Stephen and Rhonda