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Meerlust, Rubicon, 2018

Red Wine from South Africa, South Africa
by Meerlust
$46.99
Taxes and shipping calculated at checkout.
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The wine that started South Africa's love affair with the Bordeaux blend. Nico Myburgh came home from a 1967 trip to Bordeaux convinced that Meerlust's corner of Stellenbosch could do the same thing, and he had a case: decomposed granite and clay soils in the Eerste River valley, and a cool sea breeze that arrives most afternoons. Working with winemaker Giorgio Dalla Cia he released the first Rubicon in 1980, naming it for Caesar's river crossing, the point past which there is no turning back. The estate dates to 1693, and the Myburgh family has farmed it for eight generations since 1756. The 2018 is 67% Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, each variety picked from its own soil type and fermented separately, then raised in French oak, 60% of it new, for around eighteen months before bottling. It came out of a hot, dry season at the tail end of the Cape's drought, which concentrated everything: this is a firm, structured Rubicon with a decade or more ahead of it. Decant it an hour if you are opening it now.

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Robert Parker

92 points

"Composed of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with 19% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot, the 2018 Rubicon offers a broad-shouldered expression with an Old World essence. The nose explodes with a wide variety of aromas, expressing a subtle Old World funk with an equally pleasing amount of New World vibrancy and freshness. Medium to full-bodied, the palate offers dark fruit flavors with a fine beam of acidity while expressing a firm tannic edge that will loosen in time. The wine glides to a refined and complex finish that will continue to evolve gracefully for a decade." —Robert Parker

Wine Spectator

91 points

"Broad and open-knit, this harmonious red integrates fine tannins with a fragrant overtone of cured tobacco, featuring baked currant and fig, fresh and loamy earth, black licorice twist and milled pepper. Fresh and focused on the finish, where the tobacco note lingers on. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot."

More about

Wine Details

  • Grape Variety

    Red Blend

  • Vintage

    2018

  • Size

    750ml

  • Sweetness

    Dry

  • Body

    Full Bodied

Flatiron's Take

From the Importer

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Tasting Notes & Food Pairings

Perfect Pairings

Grilled ribeye, lamb chops with rosemary, oxtail stew, venison, or a mature Cheddar.

Tasting Profile

Blackcurrant, dark plum, violets, cedar and a savoury fennel note. Full-bodied and structured, with firm but rounded tannins and fresh acidity. The finish is long and grippy.