Meerlust

The Iconic Meerlust Estate Impresses Yet Again with a Benchmark Rubicon 2022 Bordeaux Blend…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The quality of the 2021 vintage will be remembered for a long time in the Cape but winemaker and cellar master Wim Truter certainly stepped up to the plate to craft an incredibly impressive 2022 Rubicon Cape Bordeaux Blend. There are few wine brands in the Cape more iconic than Meerlust Rubicon, thus magnifying the expectations and pressures on the estate to release a benchmark expression year after year.

Since Wim Truter took over from Chris Williams with the 2020 vintage (assisted by Altus Treurnicht), Wim has attempted to utilise the full extent of his “Meerlust toolbox” to maintain but also increase the quality of the Meerlust wines. This has taken place in the form of deconstructing and segmenting all the estate’s cultivars and terroirs to the finest degree of nuance, discovering what cultivar works the best on which soils. Where necessary, vineyards have been replanted.

The Rubicon is a true expression of the Meerlust estate and draws fruit from our four distinctive terroirs. Each terroir provides a unique element to the final blend.

Compagniesdrift – The soils from this warm north facing slope are predominantly formed from weathered granite. The wines originating from this granitic hilltop are expressive and bold in structure, mainly due to the coarse gravelly texture and sufficient soil depth to promote long and even ripening.

River Terraces – Sandy soils laced with rounded river stones allow for excellent root proliferation. This area of the Estate experiences the greatest shift between day and night temperatures, promoting flavour development of these delicate and fruit forward wines.

Quarry – The extremely rocky terrain consisting of greywacke with interbedded shales provides a unique substrate for vines. Shallow rooted vines on this cool and windswept foot slope leads to wines with characteristic red fruit with exceptional length, detail, and precision.

Lowlands – The remains of an ancient estuary are marked by clay-rich soils from deeply weathered greywacke and shales. The wines from this generally cool south facing, clay-rich terroir is typically smooth and silky in texture with prominent black fruit.

Heat graph illustrating how much cooler the Meerlust Estate is than the rest of Stellenbosch.

The pace of the 2022 season was slowed down by dry, warm temperatures recorded during the ripening period leading to the harvest starting slightly later. This resulted in good hang times and minimal harvesting pressures due to lower yields enabling the picking of grapes at optimal ripeness levels. The 2022 vintage was not the easiest in Stellenbosch but the results in the bottle for the Rubicon blend are once again suitably impressive after extensive focused parcel tastings for each cultivar.

Tasting parcel by parcel to choose the perfect Rubicon blend.
Winemaker and cellar master Wim Truter.

Meerlust Estate Rubicon 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv. 

The 2022 Rubicon is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (44%), Merlot (40%), Cabernet Franc (12%) and Petit Verdot (4%). The deep broody blue black fruit aromatics retain an enticing brambly, savoury, mellow aromatic elegance showing violets, lavender and a freshly tilled earth complexity. The warmth and dryness of the 2022 vintage shows in the wine’s rich generous mid-palate, with a plush accessible breadth but also a supple, creamy, attractively sweet fruited glycerol palate weight. This 2022 has the sweet fruit concentration of 2020 combined with the structural precision and elegance of 2017 but with perhaps an extra intensity of minerality, chalky granitic spice and pure black fruit persistence. A delicious Rubicon expression. Drink from 2026 to 2045+. 

(Wine Safari score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Tasting with Wim Truter inside the dedicated Rubicon barrel cellar in July 2025.

The Meerlust Estate wines are imported into the UK by Maison Marques et Domaines.

The Meerlust Estate Reaches New Heights of Quality with Their Eye Catching 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Release…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Stellenbosch is Cabernet country and while much of the focus of the Meerlust Estate inevitably revolves around their flagship Meerlust Rubicon icon Cape Bordeaux Blend, this 2021 red is undoubtedly the finest expression of pure Cabernet Sauvignon I have ever tasted from the Meerlust winery. Perhaps produced somewhat as an almost after thought decades ago, this new release Cabernet Sauvignon is every bit as chiselled, refined and considered as the Meerlust Rubicon itself.

Produced from grapes coming from vineyards on mostly shale soils near to the river, this incredibly pure, intense wine was aged in 50% new French oak barriques adding the perfect gloss to this stunning single cultivar wine. The Meerlust single cultivar Merlot was often highly hyped by followers in the past partly because this wine became previous winemaker Giorgio Dalla Cia’s own pet project for many years in the 1990s. Finally, it seems Cabernet Sauvignon’s time has arrived. The “Kingdom of Cabernet” triumphs once again.

Meerlust Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, WO Stellenbosch, 13.7% Abv.

The colour in the glass is dark and inky with an alluring opaque black plum core and the aromatics are intricately perfumed and lifted with notes of sweet violets, salty crème de cassis, tart black cherry, spicy black plum and warm buttered brown breakfast toast over hints of dried baking herbs, graphite, chai tea and delicately sappy, leafy nuances. While incredibly focused, taut, and fresh on the palate, the fruit ripeness is simply pitch perfect, combining intensely concentrated notes of black currant and damson plum fruits with an electrically charged acidity that adds verve and vigour to the mouthfeel while remaining classically structured, linear, and mineral driven in essence. This is an incredibly accomplished pure Cabernet Sauvignon that firmly tips its hat to a ripe yet fresh vintage that stylistically you could easily see in top Bordeaux left bank Cabernet Sauvignon dominated wines. What energy, focus and intensity! Wim Truter has certainly made the most of this superb, slightly atypically cool, fresh Cape vintage. Incredibly good value, this is a mesmerising wine to drink from 2025 to 2040+, so don’t miss out!

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Meerlust Estate wines are imported exclusively into the UK by Maison Marques et Domaines (MMD).

Meerlust Estate Make the Most of the Cool 2021 Cape Vintage to Produce a Classical Merlot of Exceptional Quality…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

The soils from this warm Compagniesdrift north facing slope on the Meerlust Estate are predominantly formed from weathered granite. The wines originating from this granitic hilltop are expressive and bold in structure, mainly due to their coarse gravelly texture and sufficient soil depth to promote long and even ripening. The Quarry – the extremely rocky terrain consisting of greywacke with interbedded shales soils provides a unique substrate for vines. Shallow rooted vines on this cool and windswept foot slope leads to wines with characteristic red and black berry fruits with exceptional length, detail, and precision.

The 2020 post-harvest period was characterised by very hot and dry conditions, which led to early leaf fall, especially in early ripening cultivars. The winter rainfall started late, but regular cold fronts contributed almost 100 mm more precipitation than in the previous season. Soil profiles were well saturated, and farm dams returned to pre-drought levels.

Merlot grapes on the estate.

The budding period was particularly cool and wet, and low soil temperatures delayed bud break by up to 14 days. Despite sustained cool conditions, the flowering and fruit set periods were moderate and ideal. Véraison followed the seasonal trend and was generally up to 14 days later than the previous season.

The Meerlust homestead.

Ripening was consistently about 10-14 days later than the previous year, and the ripening period was very moderate. This resulted in good hang times, minimal harvesting pressure and allowed for optimum picking. Although yields are lower, the grape composition and preliminary wine quality of the 2021 vintage showed immediate promise. The wines have intensity and freshness coupled with a fine tannin structure.

Meerlust Estate Merlot 2021, WO Stellenbosch, 14.28% Abv. 

 2.71g/l | RS 6.33g/l TA | 3.48pH

This stunning 2021 vintage is a pure 100% Merlot (some years can include snippets of Petit Verdot or Cabernet Franc) made up of several select parcels that were fermented separately before undergoing malolactic fermentation in 300 litre oak barrels. After six months in barrel, the final components were carefully selected and blended before being put back into barrel for a further 12 months in 40% new French oak before bottling. This long cool vintage really lends itself to the more classically leaning old world style of Meerlust’s wines, and this Merlot is beautifully distinguished revealing aromatics of dusty granite, damson plums, black currants, black tea, wet tobacco, and sweet herbs that offer a subtle sapidity to the plush alluring nose. Delicately saline reductive black cherry notes follow on to the palate that is broad, luxurious, and creamy with a medium bodied density but also the most seductively elegant fine-grained tannins. This seamlessly complete expression of Merlot must rank among the finest the winery has produced to date with a notably fresh vein of acidity wonderfully integrated into the plush, chocolatety, Pomerol-styled finish. Drink now until 2035+.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The wines of Meerlust Estate are imported into the UK by Maison Marques et Domaines (MMD) and retails for circa £26pb.

The Iconic Meerlust Estate in Stellenbosch is Back on Top Form with the Release of their Rubicon 2021 Cape Bordeaux Blend…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Change does not come a knocking too often at iconic estates like Meerlust or Kanonkop. Indeed, these iconic South African heritage estates could fit all their past and present winemakers around one small table in the corner of a good Stellenbosch steak house restaurant and still have a few spare seats. So with the iconic 2021 vintage, we see a bold wine that Meerlust winemaker Wim Truter was solely in charge of without any influence from predecessors.

When I last visited Meerlust a few years ago, I was driven around the expansive property which boasts 65 hectares under vines but I also saw some of the 20 hectares of new plantings that will be coming on stream in the next few years. The Meerlust Estate, held in trust, certainly is not letting the grass grow under its feet.

While winemaker Wim Truter surely knew what he was taking on by applying to be the successor to Chris Williams, he seems to have settled in very nicely thank you… and most people I have spoken to in the fine wine trade feel he is more than adequately equipped and resourced to produce some very exciting wines from this iconic estate. Look out for the Rubicon 2021, which looks set to be release in the UK later in the year but which is already available in the local market.

Meerlust Rubicon Cape Bordeaux Blend 2021, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.

A blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot aged 18 months in 300-litre barrels, 60% new, this impressive 2021 represents one of the most exciting Rubicon releases since the 2015 and 2017 vintages. The aromatics are mineral and spicy underpinned by layers of blueberry and black berry fruits, salty black liquorice, graphite pencil and sweet sappy cedar, sandalwood and a subtle tobacco leaf spice. Beautifully constructed, the palate is taut but tensile, tightly wound, tight knit and polished, displaying impressive stony polished marble tannins but also a great core of energy. The textural precision is notable showing power, focus and a piercing black cherry and saline black currant intensity with a kiss of nori kelp, grilled herbs and iodine on the long finish. This is a fine wine collectors will want to bury away in their cellars for 5 to 8 years to allow the wine to unfurl further and put on a bit more palate weight. But all the requisite components for another truly classic Rubicon are present. I’ve not been this excited about a new Rubicon release for a long time! Congrats to the whole Meerlust team. (21,000 cases of 6 produced)

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

South Africa’s Iconic Cape Bordeaux Blend Brand Meerlust Estate Releases Their 2018 Rubicon…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

In November 2019, winemaker Wim Truter joined Meerlust, taking over from Chris Williams to become only the third winemaker to take the reins at this historic estate. Chris had finally followed his own calling and decided to move on to the next chapter of his winemaking career to further grow his own Foundry Winery brand. So, while technically the 2018 vintage is still regarded as the fruits of Chris’s labours, Wim Truter has done a fine job overseeing not only the release of this new Rubicon blend but also the declassification of the 2019 Rubicon vintage into the Meerlust Red 2019 for the first time since 2011. Meerlust Red 2019 reviewed here… https://gregsherwoodmw.com/2021/10/17/the-resurrection-of-the-meerlust-red-blend-tasting-the-2019-vintage-release/

There are few premium brands in South Africa who produce the high quantity of quality wine that Meerlust Estate does, and so it was inevitable that the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting lock-down would have a disproportionately negative effect on sales of this world-famous brand that is listed by almost every leading hotel, restaurant and bar in South Africa as well as in a never-ending list of top restaurants and 5 Star hotels around the world. As a result, consumers have had a longer run of availability with the exceptional 2017 Rubicon that was rated 96+/100 on the Fine Wine Safari. But the time has finally come for the 2017 Rubicon to pass the baton over to the highly anticipated 2018 vintage. Meerlust Rubicon is undoubtedly one of South Africa’s greatest wine ambassadors. If you have not tasted it yet, you are indeed missing out on one of the great Bordeaux blends produced in the Cape.

The higher altitude and close proximity to the sea helped cool the vineyards during the hot and dry vintage of 2018.

Meerlust Estate Rubicon 2018, WO Stellenbosch, 14.3% Abv.

2.6 g/l RS | 5.54 g/l TA | 3.63 pH

The 2018 Rubicon is a classical blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, with every parcel of each variety fermented separately before undergoing malolactic fermentation in 300 litre barrels and large foudré. After 8 months in barrel, the components were blended and given another 10 months in barrel for harmonization before bottling. Wonderfully deep in colour, the nose is splendidly expressive showing quintessential Cabernet Sauvignon notes of pressed violets, black plum, sun raisin black currants, black salty liquorice, black chai tea, sweet cedar spice and layers of graphite and spearmint. While the aromatics are dominated by rich, dark berry fruits, the palate is classically proportioned with plenty of overt elegance and textural finesse – a great feat considering the heat and drought of the 2018 vintage. The extra bottle age before release has undoubtedly been a positive for this powerful, structured blend, helping to further round out the suave creamy tannins and harmonise the earthy black berry fruit layers, making the acids polished, glassy and fresh rather than taut and crunchy like many other 2018 reds. Unexpectedly approachable in its youth, I would have no hesitancy to cellar this super smart blend for another 10 to 15+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wines available to the UK trade from Maisons Marques et Domaines Ltd and should retail for circa £30pb.

The Resurrection of the Meerlust Red Blend – Tasting the 2019 Vintage Release…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 1 Comment

I have made no secret over the years that I love the concept of premium second wines, whether from Bordeaux, Napa Valley or Cape Town. The Meerlust Estate Red Blend last made a local South African market appearance back in 2011, when the Meerlust Estate declassified their Rubicon flagship wine. To avoid confusion, a ‘Meerlust Red’ is made every vintage but only for the international export market where second wines are well entrenched as viable alternatives for mid-week drinking or for less serious occasions but do not cannibalise the sales of the premium cuvee. However, this wine is not normally sold in the home market unless a specific vintage of Rubicon is declassified into the Red Blend like in 2011, 2002, 1990 and 1985.

Inevitably, when the wider market realises that the premium Rubicon Red Blend has not been released, the Meerlust Red acquires a massive and immediate following, such is the pedigree and reputation of the Meerlust Estate. Sold in the local home market for half the price of the Rubicon, the Red Blend is always an exceptional value wine and drinkers would be well advised to fill their cellars to pad out their drinking of the more age worthy vintages of Meerlust Rubicon.

Meerlust Red 2019, WO Stellenbosch

The 2019 Meerlust Red is a blend of 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Initially a little reticent on opening, this wine quickly sheds its broody, sulky, spicy veil to reveal a wonderfully complex aromatic array of black plum, black berry compote, orange peel, Christmas pudding over hints of pressed violets, sweet cedar spice and graphite nuances. The palate is plush and fleshy from the word go, showing an open knit, expressive opulence of red currant, bramble berry, black currant, sweet oak spice, black tea and a sleek texture that simply embraces the palate and makes you go back again and again for another sip. Refreshingly vibrant and impressively generous, I suspect this wine will age surprisingly well for over 10+ years even though it’s simply a cracking drinker right now on release. Hats off to the entire Meerlust crew.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Tasting a Fine & Rare Line up of Aged South African Icon Wines…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

During the past 18 months of the pandemic there has been far too little sharing of great bottles among fine wine lovers. But with many determined to make up for lost time, South African fine lover and uber SA wine supporter, Thor Gudmundsson organised a fantastic old South African wine tasting lunch at one of his two excellent wine bar / restaurants in London, the Brackenbury Wine Rooms.

With most of the bottles generously supplied by Thor, it was a bit of a challenge for me to come up with some interesting bottles to add a little extra interest and excitement. Perhaps a bit predictably, I decided to bring the fabled Kanonkop pairing of Paul Sauer 1994 and Cabernet Sauvignon 1994 to compare and contrast blind. I have done this exercise twice before and both times it has been a challenging yet thoroughly enjoyable affair. Just to add an extra level of excitement, Thor had a bottle of the iconic Meerlust Rubicon 1994 to throw into the mix with the Kanonkop 1994 pairing.

Silvervis Chenin Blanc 2015, 12.5% Abv.

Rich, honied nose like a dry botrytis Sauternes wine. Peaches and dried apricot notes, subtle hints of salinity and a mellow, evolved honied finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 88/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Silvervis Chenin Blanc 2017, 13% Abv.

Zippy and zesty with layers of sweet & sour yellow plum, dried pear and peach, tangy tangerine acidity and a vibrant fresh saline finish. Ryan Mostert at his best. 😉

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Rust en Vrede Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1987, 12.5% Abv.

Showing complexing evolution, this has layers of dried leather, mechanic’s diesel rag, dried tobacco and smoked cigars. Tannins are fully resolved bolstered by a sweet core of brambly fruit, savoury prune and plum pudding and a cool lean finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 87/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Lanzerac Cabernet Sauvignon 1968

Dark, savoury broody nose with aromatics of sweet, stewed strawberries, raspberry compote and hints of Christmas pudding. Retains a fresh attractive tangy sweetness dominated by red fruits with sweet silky tannins and a long mellow finish with just the slightest hint of diesel rag.

(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Kanonkop Cabernet Sauvignon 1994, 13% Abv.

Wonderfully perfumed, sleek and elegant on the nose with pressed violets, cherry tobacco and sweet red currant fruits. This wine is pure, precise and quite ethereal. Plenty of shape and structure in the mouth still. Impressive linearity and focus. Beautiful.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Kanonkop Paul Sauer 1994, 12.5% Abv.

Slightly evolved earthy nose, black currant coulis, tobacco, stewed red berry fruits. Palate is superbly fresh, saline, and incredibly well balanced, complex, silky and profound. Nose and palate slightly detached suggesting some bottle variation. A superb wine nevertheless, but I have tasted fresher bottles.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Meerlust Rubicon 1994, 12.5 Abv.

Initially very pure and tight with focused aromatics of savoury leather, black currant and violets, the nose evolves to show smokey graphite, railway yard, wood smoke and savoury berry fruit. The palate is incredibly vibrant, explosive and intense with savoury black currant, tangy acids and a mellow stewed winter berry fruit compote note on the finish. Spectacular wine.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Cape Winemakers Guild Cordoba 2001 Auction Reserve, 14% Abv.

Very cedary and spicy with bell pepper, green leaf, dried herbs, coffee beans and black currant fruits. A classical style that is slightly hard work now but with further evolution, could blossom into something legendary. Leave in your cellar for now is my advice. In a slightly awkward stage of evolution.

(Wine Safari Score: 91+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Taaibosch Crescendo 2018, 13.5% Abv.

This is of course the first release of the rejuvenated and replanted Cordoba estate under the watchful eye of Schalk Willem Joubert. Shows a dark dense nose of brûléed black berry fruits, coffee bean, espresso and sweet cedar spice. The palate is elegant but robust and powerful with grippy tannins, graphite spice, concentrated black currant fruit and an impressive stony mineral length. Bury this in your cellar for 10 years minimum. It will reward patience!

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Vergelegen Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, 14.5% Abv.

Quite a classically proportioned wine with a nose of black berry fruits, saline cassis, wet tobacco, cedar wood and espresso spice. Texturally sleek and full, creamy and well balanced with just a slight leafy peppery note on the finish. A fine expression for a warm vintage and drinking exceptionally well at the moment.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Niepoort & Sadie Cape Tawny 2008, 21% Abv.

Rich, nutty and expressive with layers of burnt caramel, orange rind, old malmsey Madeira and salty nutty notes. The palate is very intense, rich but not overly sweet, more nutty and pithy than unctuous. Tannins are spicy and slightly raw but sufficiently balanced with the acid freshness that is perfect for the expected level of complexity and intensity. A very attractive offering with massive drinkability and certainly plenty of unicorn wow factor!

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Meerlust Rubicon 2016 – Slow and Steady Outlook Assures Another Great Vintage…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

Meerlust Estate has been the pride of the Myburgh family since 1756. Today, the dedication to quality winemaking continues under the guidance of 8th generation, Hannes Myburgh. Cellar Master, Chris Williams has worked on the estate since 1995 and has been in charge of winemaking since 2004.

 

The Cabernet Sauvignon is grown on low yielding, predominantly biotite partially decomposed granite gravel topsoil rich in quartz and feldspar to a depth of approximately 600mm with a loamy clay subsoil. The Merlot vineyards are planted on more clay rich, yet well drained soils to ensure moisture retention and availability to the vines roots right through the summer. There are considerable deposits of iron-rich Laterite in the Merlot vineyards which accentuates the fruit definition and mineral profile of the wine.

The Cabernet Franc Vineyard is situated on very well drained, stony Vilafontes soil with approximately 20% clay which is ideal for this variety.The Petit Verdot is on Oakleaf 3 soils on a northerly aspect to ensure full phenolic ripeness. The 2016 growing season was unusually cool but quite dry, presenting unique problems of fruit set and ripening. Irrigation was used strategically even on the mature vineyards to ensure slow ripening and proper flavour and tannin development. The Merlot and the Cabernets were extensively suckered from early in the season, and during veraison ‘vendage vert’ was applied extensively to ensure an evenly ripe crop.

 

Meerlust Rubicon 2016, WO Stellenbosch, 14 Abv.

The Rubicon component parts were transferred to barrel early for malolactic fermentation in 55% new Nevers French oak, 25% second fill barrels and the remaining 20% in older French oak barrels. The final blend of the 2016 is indicative of the vintage and its impact on the estate’s vineyards with 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, the lowest in Rubicon history, with 28% Merlot, exhibiting this varieties great expression in the unusual 2016 vintage, 20% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. The wine was barrel aged for 16 months before bottling. Having tasted this wine a few weeks after bottling in 2018 at the winery, it has certainly settled down beautifully and first impressions suggest further ageing in bottle will only be beneficial. It is pure, bright and generous with sweet notes of plump ripe black plums, sweet cherry tobacco, sappy sandalwood, graphite and cedar spice. The palate is still a touch taut on the entry but quickly fans out onto the mid-palate with sappy sweet black plum fruits from the high percentage of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Thoroughly honest in style, generous and approachable, this wine is both vibrantly fresh and charmingly drinkable now on release with impressively integrated creamy oak. A wine that recognizes its vintage limitations but still succeeds in delivering a wonderfully delicious and gregarious Bordeaux blend expression. Drink now until 2028+.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Fine Wine Safari Top 10 South African Red Wines of the Year 2018…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

What a fascinating and historical year 2018 was for red wines in South Africa. With the exception of only a few wineries, most premium producers released their incredible 2015 wines made from what is generally being regarded as probably the best quality vintage in South Africa’s modern post-apartheid era of winemaking.

Having already released the Fine Wine Safari Top 10 Whites of the Year, I have been overwhelmed with the comments of agreement and support for my selections. But then again, many will argue that the list included a multitude of excellent 2017 vintage wines and that the “white category” still remains South Africa’s strongest talent. While all of this may be true, 2018 saw the release of multiple red wines that pushed quality boundaries like never before. We’ll hand some of that to the vintage conditions of 2015 and 2017 but I’d also like to credit the growing confidence, expertise, knowhow and ambition of winemakers across the South African landscape.

If you are a seasoned veteran of premium South African wines, you will nod knowingly and expectantly at many of my red selections. If you are new to the South African category, perhaps living in the USA, Europe or Asia, make an effort to track these wines down now as many might still be available and all are definitely worth buying, even at their sometimes lofty price points! In my mind, they all represent relative value for money for what they are. Enjoy!

Kanonkop Paul Sauer Red Blend 2015, Stellenbosch – 98+/100 Greg Sherwood MW

Meerlust Rubicon Red Blend 2015, Stellenbosch – 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW

Vilafonte Series C 2016 Red Blend, Paarl – 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW

Boekenhoutskloof Journeyman Red Blend 2015, WO Western Cape – 97+/100 GregSherwood MW

Donovan Rall Ava Syrah 2017, Swartland – 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW

Tokara Telos Red Blend 2015, Stellenbosch – 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW

MR de Compostella Red Blend 2016, Stellenbosch – 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW

Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines Iron Syrah 2016, Swartland – 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW

Le Riche Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2015, Stellenbosch – 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW

Duncan Savage Red Blend 2015, WO Western Cape – 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone who helped make 2018 such a memorable year! 🍷🎄 🦄

Don’t miss my “Year in Photographs” coming up before New Years Eve 2018.

Drinking An Iconic South African Red – Unravelling the Meerlust Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1976 and the South African Fine Wine Investment Market…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 1 Comment

In the week that Wine Cellar South Africa launched (and sold out of) its first fine wine investment fund built around (physical) iconic South African wines from the 2015 vintage, I thought it was fitting to drink a wine that illustrates the true greatness of South Africa’s best red wines. In light of the Wine Cellar VIP 2015 offering, many international commentators less intimately connected to the fine wine market have stated that “few South African wines improve appreciably with extended ageing” and thus the fine wine investment model is built on a sandy foundation.

Firstly, one needs to clarify what extended ageing implies. From a wine trade / merchant point of view, one could reasonably expect the quality of wines included in the VIP 2015 Fund to age and certainly improve incrementally for easily 10+ years… and many on the list for certainly 20 years plus. Secondly, to say that there is no secondary market for aged South African fine wine is blatantly wrong. There is massive demand but merely little to no supply… and the older stock that does make it to market commercially is either small parcels kindly released by the wineries themselves from archive stocks as more of a marketing endeavour or the stock is from provenanced private collections. Either way, it is an insignificant, non commercial quantity unable to influence the market in any meaningful way and adds no liquidity.

I have been involved in the top end of the UK fine wine trade for 20 years now, many of which I have actively been promoting and selling the very best wines from South Africa to international collectors and connoisseurs. Admittedly, you need to sell the best names from the best vintages, but that is certainly no different anywhere else in the fine wine world. Many top South African red (and white) wines clearly age very very well and while you always need to be selective and take professional advise, this fact is now indisputable.

To many, the term or idea of investing in a wonderful agricultural product like wine is sacrilege, a dirty word, a dirty concept. But for time immemorial, the concept of “investing in wine” implied buying double your requirements, with money you did not always readily have, and then selling half the wine several years later when more scarce to finance the drinking of the other half. In essence, this is still the model many fine wine investors (drinkers) that I deal with on a day to day basis follow. Indeed, I cannot name one private client on my books who is tea total and who only invests in wine for the hard cold cash returns. They are all passionate about wine.

One thing is very clear to me however. For South African fine wine to gain a genuinely fluid and dynamic foothold in the fine wine investment market globally, there has to be a strong and confident “wine investment culture” locally in the home market of the wines in question. The demand for older vintages needs to begin at home and then ripple out to international markets. For far too long it has been international buyers piling into the Nederburg Auction wines, the Cape Wine Makers Guild Wines or the odd rare fine wine older vintage auction offering. This Wine Cellar VIP 2015 Fund marks the turning of a corner, where locals put their money where their mouths are and invest in iconic wines from possibly a once in a generation quality vintage. With over 12,000 bottles included in this fund, we should over the coming years, see stocks of these perfectly cellared older vintages released onto the market for local and international consumption at a premium that is commensurate to the quality and rarity of the given wine. Supply and demand will decide that premium.

For what it’s worth, I bought this wonderful Meerlust Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1976 from the winery in March 2018 and drank it recently at a South African themed fine wine lunch in London. Poured sighted, there wasn’t a taster on the table of seven that did not sit in awe of its youthful elegance. A true testament to the ageability and longevity of classical Cabernet Sauvignon produced by one of South Africa’s top estates. The message now disseminating out of the South African fine wine scene is not whether the country is able to produce age worthy wines of super premium quality, but whether the industry as a whole has the skills and knowhow to market these wines globally in a proper confident manner, for the correct premium price tag and importantly, to the correct target market segments? Time for everyone to up their game in the South African fine wine trade.

Meerlust Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1976, W.O. Stellenbosch

A beautiful mahogany colour, the nose is initially tight and cedary, spicy and quite restrained, but 20 minutes of air in a decanter after the cork is pulled allows this grand old wine to open its shoulders. Wonderfully mellow but still vibrantly youthful, beguilingly complex, fragrant and intriguing. The palate is loaded with lovely sweet raisined cranberries, violets, sweet tobacco, black tea and an earthy red currant sappy depth. Texturally this is so fine, initially quite piquant and spicy but also beautifully elegant. Incredible to think this wine is 42 years olds and still going strong. A bold, powerful and elegantly regal red showing the real potential of South Africa’s greatest terroirs and the true premium standing of great Cabernet Sauvignon. What a treat!

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)