Meerlust Rubicon, Stellenbosch

Name: Meerlust Rubicon, Stellenbosch
Price: 24.95 GBP
Availability: InStock

£24.95 / bottle
£284.43 / case (12+ bottles, 5% off)

Country	South Africa
Region	Stellenbosch
Size	75cl
Year	2016
Grape	Cabernet Sauvignon
Other Grapes	Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot
Website Link	Meerlust Wines

Description

Meerlust Rubicon is the top Cape Classic Blend from Meerlust Estate which is one of the oldest and most prestigious South African Wineries in the Stellenbosch wine region.

Meerlust has a long history and the Myburgh family have been making wine at the estate for eight generations since 1756. Current owner Hannes Myburgh (who studied winemaking at Geisenheim, Germany and Chateau Lafite) continues to maintain the family tradition to the art of fine wine making. The head winemaker since 2004 is Chris Williams, who has worked at Meerlust since 1995, and has worked for Michel Rolland in France. Meerlust consists of 110 hectares of vineyards located 15 kilometers to the south of Stellenbosch and 5 kilometers away from False Bay. The Estate is ideally positioned for the production of characterful and complex wines – there are cooling ocean breezes and evening mists in the summertime which allow the grapes to ripen slowly and thereby gaining full, complex, rich and robust varietal characteristics. The soil is similar to those of Bordeaux, it is deep well-draining Hutton and Clovelly soil types (decomposing granite and clay), ideal for wine-growing offering the vines good drought resistance and conditions for producing concentrated, complex wines. 110 hectares are planted, mainly with red varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir. There are also plantings of Chardonnay.

Meerlust Rubicon 2016 is a blend of 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Each variety was fermented separately before undergoing malolactic fermentation in 300 L barrels, 55% new Nevers oak, 25% second fill barrels and the remaining 20% in older French oak barrels. The wine is aged for a total of 16 months in barrel prior to bottling. Winemaker is Chris Williams.

Tasting Notes

From Meerlust: "The 2016 Rubicon shows great charm and drinkability even at this early stage, no doubt a result of the high Merlot and Cabernet Franc composition. We were very cautious with regards to tannic structure as some of the later Cabs exhibited astringency which we wanted to minimise in the final blend. Wonderful exotic aromas of plum, sandalwood and perfume, still with a touch of creamy vanilla. The palate is medium bodied with a forward dark fruit flavour of cassis and mulberry followed by a lithe tannic structure fleshed out with juicy fruit. The impression is one of litheness and grace rather than over-arching power."