The Vergenoegd Löw Estate (previously the Vergenoegd Estate) along with the Meerlust Estate and Winshaw Vineyards form a magical trio of unique coastal Stellenbosch terroirs capable of producing some of the most captivating Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux blends in the entire Cape. Historically famous for their old Cabernet Sauvignons from the 1960s and 1970s, the previous owners of Vergenoegd Estate, the Faure family, released their first Bordeaux blend in 1993 and this third release 1995 vintage was offered to the South African market in late 1997 / early 1998. I recently cracked one of my last four bottles to see how this 30 year old classic was holding up. Stored in a temperature controlled cellar since purchase, this bottle was in pristine condition. But of course, with older vintages, there is no such thing as a great wine merely great bottles. My three remaining bottles have even higher ullages implying they could be even better. Only time will tell.
Vergenoegd Estate Wine Reserve 1995, WO Stellenbosch, 13.01% Abv.
A classical blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, this 30 year old wine is holding up beautifully, showing impressively fragrant herbal aromatics of sage, bay leaf, dried violets, fynbos and green tea before hints of raisined cranberry, stewed black cherries and red currants. Opened and allowed to breath for 2-3 hours without decanting, there is a real vibrancy to the wine, one that I have grown accustomed to from some of South Africa’s old red grandes vins.
No rush after pulling the cork! Indeed it’s only after 3+ hours that the splendour of the milk chocolate and peppermint crisp nuances start to show on the nose and palate. The texture is clearly dense, glycerol and textured, the tannins spicy and fine grained now like a well brewed cup of black tea, but underpinned by bright acids and a subtle graphite minerality. A dense classy 1995 that is maybe plateauing but there’s certainly no rush to drink up last bottles.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)