The third annual Merlot Report convened by Winemag.co.za with the backing of official producer body Hallo Merlot is now out.

Merlot is South Africa’s eighth most widely planted variety with 5 411ha in the ground at the end of 2018, the equivalent of 5.8% of the national vineyard and its importance to the industry is therefore not to be under-estimated.

53 entries were received from 45 producers and these were tasted blind (labels out of sight) by the three-person panel. What is fascinating about this year’s top performers is that while Stellenbosch fares predictably well with six wines in the top 12, there’s a broad spread of other areas including two from Constantia and one each from Darling, Elgin, Franschhoek and Hemel en Aarde Ridge (Walker Bay).

The top 12 wines were as follows:

Creation 2017

Dornier 2017

Eagles’ Nest 2015

Groot Constantia 2016

Groote Post 2017

Holden Manz Reserve 2016

Jordan Black Magic 2016

Laibach Claypot 2016 – BEST OVERALL

Meinert 2015

Overgaauw 2017

Remhoogte Aspect 2015

Shannon Mount Bullet 2016

Laibach, as producer of the best wine overall, won a Tarransaud Tonnellerie 225-litre barrel worth R14 100 sponsored by local agent Chene South Africa.

To read the report in full, including key findings, tasting notes for the top 10 and scores on the 100-point quality scale for all wines entered, go to Winemag.co.za.