Rustenberg John X Merriman 2006
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This sensational Bordeaux blend is named for the Prime Minister of the Cape who purchased and revitalized part of the historical Rustenberg estate in the late 1800s. One of South Africa's most iconic bottlings, it delivers intense, smoky flavors of tobacco, cherry, licorice, and plum intertwined with complex notes of mineral and spice.
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Mostly cabernet sauvignon and merlot, along with petit verdot, franc and malbec, this grows at Rustenberg's southwest-facing vineyards on Simonsberg Mountain. It's a dark, savory red with scents of black tea, dark plums and tobacco. With air, the middle of the wine fills out, deepening to black raspberry flavors, and the finish brightens, buoyed by mineral-edged tannin. For the cellar, or decant for roast lamb.
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The renaissance began with a large scale replanting of the vineyards using virus-free clones imported from France, followed by sweeping renovations to the winery and the hiring of new viticultural and winemaking teams. As Wine Spectator recently observed, "Rustenberg has all the qualifications of a world-class wine estate: a long history of winemaking…and ideal terroir, with deep-red, clay-rich granite soils that are located on a variety of slopes and elevations." Rustenberg has achieved tremendous critical and commercial success, and today the celebrated estate’s bottlings are among South Africa’s most iconic and sought-after wines.