Meerlust Rubicon, Stellenbosch 1.5 Litre Magnum

£70.50

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Description

Meerlust Rubicon presented in 1.5 Litre Magnum. Also available in bottles. The magnums are presented in individual gift tins.

Meerlust Estate 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 is Hannes Myburgh (who studied winemaking at Geisenheim, Germany and Chateau Lafite) continues to maintain the family tradition to the art of fine wine making.

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.

The varieties were fermented separately with a combination of remontage and delistage. The wines were transferred to barrel early for malo-lactic fermentation in 55% new Nevers oak, 25% second fill barrels and the remaining 20% in older French oak barrels. The final blend for the Meerlust Rubicon 2016 is indicative of the vintage: 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.

Tasting Notes

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.

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