2009-10-14 | Doolhof Estate's The Minotaur wins double gold at Veritas The Minotaur 2007, Doolhof Wine Estate in Wellington's newly released ultra premium wine, won a double gold medal at the 2009 Veritas Awards announced on Saturday night. It is a distinctive Cape red blend of six varietals in which Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon predominate, alongside Petit Verdot, Pinotage and Shiraz. Doolhof is the Afrikaans word for labyrinth, hence naming the estate's top range after the ancient Cretan tale of King Minos' Labyrinth. The wine, a 2007 vintage, was produced from top quality, hand picked grapes from the estate's premier vineyards. Different grape varietals were fermented separately with extended maceration on the skins after fermentation. Only the best barrels were selected for this wine, which was matured in 225 litre French oak barrels for 14 months, before bottling in September 2008. The Minotaur has an intense, dark plum colour with aromas and flavours of black currants, almonds, cherries and mint. This is a well balanced, full-bodied wine with well integrated tannins. Only 3 400 bottles have been produced and the wine is expected to drink well up to 2022. This is not the first time that The Minotaur has won gold! At this year's Michelangelo Wine Awards in September, it won a gold medal. Dennis Kerrison of Doolhof enthuses that the wine is a product of the marriage of various microclimates and terroirs - mysterious, intense and unforgettable.