October is Merlot Month and to celebrate we bring you all things Merlot – starting with the terroir. Merlot is widely regarded as one of the world’s most difficult cultivars to grow. At Creation on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge however, we are blessed with a number of factors contributing to the successful cultivation of the fickle Merlot.

Firstly there’s the macro-climate which has a great influence on the suitability of this cultivar to our terroir. Our Merlot is planted at an altitude of around 292 m above sea level on the rolling foothills of Babylonstoren Mountain, some 9 km from the Atlantic Ocean. The soil type is clay-loam derived from Bokkeveld shale as the parent material. And then the estate has a night index of 12 degrees less than the day-time temperature and thus enjoys a unique diurnal variation between warm days at around 23° C and cool nights.

Click here to read the complete blog and here to read more about the wine and to buy it online.