Bold & Structured

Meerlust Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is about completeness, and about structure; balance and harmony; about a mannered, agreeable charm that holds one with both the gentle finger-clasp of flirtation and the needy grip of seduction. The wine has an evocative maritime, oyster-shell aroma, notes often found in well-schooled Cabernet Sauvignon, but mostly on wines of greater maturity. The saline scent, however, quickly gives way to broody, shadowy notes of autumnal fruit and brittle sun-dried cedar. Upon the first taste the immediate presence and the wine’s commanding structure leads to a comparison of this Meerlust Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 with some forms of non-consumable beauty. Evocative statuesque images that came to mind are a Michelangelo statue sculpted from Carrara marble; a leopard on its haunches, the golden spotted hide glowing in the late-afternoon sun as its coiled muscles await signals from the mind to unleash the body onto hapless prey; tennis goddess Aryna Sabalenka pummelling a cross-court forehand past a frozen opponent. In this wine, the muscled tannins have been sculpted into forms of grace and beauty that bear the whole body from the beginning of the sip to the final sappy throes of its finish. The experience is all encompassing, riveting dense beams of classic wine-flavoured elegance covered with plush, broad layers of dark-fruited tapestries where plum, mulberry and blackcurrant are – at this stage of its development – discernible. But the lasting impression of Meerlust Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is the way the wine appears polished to a state of clarity and purity, placing it a long way down on the road to the unachievable destination of perfection. No wine will ever get there, but the distance Meerlust has reached is one only attainable by a remarkable few.

Rupert and Rothschild Classique 2021 is the second vintage to include Cabernet Franc in the blend, which lifts the texture making for a more elegant wine, although Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon still dominate the assemblage. This is Classique at it’s best and after 16 months in French oak and a few years in the bottle this vintage is singing! A complex and smoky nose starts off with roasted coffee, cassis, black cherry and earthy spice. The palate is medium to full bodied with seamless tannins and just enough acidity to retain freshness. There’s ripeness and richness on the palate, but it’s not overworked or overripe, it’s balanced and very well made. The wines of Rupert and Rothschild seem to get better with every passing vintage, and Classique 2020 certainly supports that theory. 92/100 Deano da Vino

Lemberg Spencer 2021 Intense red fruit plotting sweet spices, ​plums, and mulberries with hints of vanilla ​on the nose. Velvety smooth tannins on the ​finish. 95% Pinotage

Aromas of black cherry, mocha, fresh earth, and violets explode out of the glass, followed by a full, textured palate, fine tannins, and a lingering finish.

Raats Red Jasper 2022, is a blend of 49% Cabernet Franc, 35% Malbec, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.5% Merlot and 3.5% Petit Verdot, we encounter an incredibly plush, luscious, approachable red blend brimming with earthy red berry fruits, aromatics of violets and sweet lavender, dried baking herbs and subtle notes of graphite and lead pencil. On the palate, the wine is medium bodied and plush, soft textured but also fleshy, creamy and deliciously accessible boasting toasty notes of black currant, damson plum and sour black cherries. A very compact and complete wine on release, this cuvee might not rise to the heights of the 2021, but in a funny kind of way, consumers desiring instant enjoyment now may actually love the 2022’s creamy opulence more than the bracing acid structure of the 2021. This wine simply gets better and better every vintage. Well done Bruwer! 93/100 GSMW (review c/o.) (Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW) Food suggestions Venison dishes / lazy-aged sirloin or rib-eye / Hard cheese