Meerlust, Rubicon, Stellenbosch

Bought at auction. Tasted ever so very slightly tainted, but still very nice. Fully resolved but plenty of life left. Tasted alongside the 1987, which was stunning.

1995 vintage

Bit tannic and tart, definitely a wine with food not sipping. Need the fat to balance it out.

1999 vintage

A good wine but it is starting to show its age. A bit funky on the nose initially but it went away so my suggestion is you drink your 95 Meerlust's.

1995 vintage

Needs some air to be able to find any fruit; muted cassis and oak in the mouth, but nicely combined and very smooth.

1999 vintage

Decanted for 2 hrs. Slight cellar damp on opening, which disappeared at drink time. Youthful, bright red colour. Bordeaux nose w cedar, oak, tobacco, mint and spices. Mature tannins but still lively acidity. Very fruity for its age, shades of strawberries/raspberries. Fairly long and complex aftertaste, w some alcohol. Very enjoyable! Not at all past its best before date, will last another 3-4 yrs.

1995 vintage

plump round black fruit, quite plain, slightly alcoholic balance, decent. still some tannins but ready and the fruit is probably falling open

1999 vintage

Quite evolved in colour and on the nose, again a little dusty, quite sweet, with tobacco, spices and cedar. Soft and round on the palate, lacking a bit of grip and tension, but certainly complex and very subtle, elegant. Based on this bottle I would recommend to drink up.

1995 vintage

Meerlust Rubicon Vertical with Hannes Myburgh (Handford Wines, London) : This wine split us quite a bit with Andreas finding it shy while nicole like the subtle expression of it. Classic bordeaux in style, but at times felt to have dry rough edges (andreas) and the common flaw we found to it is that it was a bit short on the finish vs what we expected. 89 vs 91 > 90 overall 68%CS/20%M/12%CF - 12.8% Alc

1995 vintage

Opened, decanted and drank starting 30 minutes later with a friend--still very good. Still bright red and velvety, with nuisances of tobacco and cinnamon. A wee bit thin--but according to the community this 18 year old wine should be well past its drink by date--and it's not.

1995 vintage

Drank on Saturday 17 August 2013 watching South Africa annihilate Argentina 73-13.

1999 vintage

Drank too late. Too much oxidation had occurred.

1995 vintage

Similar to earlier tasters although note we are drinking this in Aug 2010. Still very Ruby red with minimal signs of ageing. Spice and cedar on the nose; smokey with berry fruit on the palate. Initially not that long but 1 hour later had opened further. Bit of a mystery as to how much further this will last - I suspect quite a while but it may loose its body. Very pleasant drink.

1999 vintage

Wine-Pages South African Offline (Market Restaurant, Manchester) : The nose is dominated for me by volatility, backed up with some muddy dirtiness. But forget the nose. This has a very classy feel on the palate: quite evolved, with some high tones, but also a real spicy, floral feel on the palate.

1995 vintage

still a dark color, showing a bit of age at the rims. on the nose, this shows black currant jam, tobacco leaf and horse saddle, just enough to make you go "this is south africa." the tannins are smoothing out, and this wine shows rich flavors of black cherry and chocolate, highlighted by pepper, cigar box, earth and some barnyard. the fruit is big and lovely, but i think it is smoothing out and gaining some nice complexity. a wonderful …

1999 vintage

Deep red. Cassia and violets. even some pepper. Claret like, tight. Young, long dry finish. very good.

1999 vintage

Nice match with NY Strip steak. Still very tight and not sure the fruit will outlast the structure. Certainly a very good, well made wine, but not profound.

1995 vintage

Meerlust Rubicon Vertical (Caldesi, London) : A very high-toned nose. The palate is a bit disjointed with high acidity and the same high tones as the nose. Rather Musarey and so probably faulty. 82/100 maybe?

1995 vintage

Meerlust Rubicon Offline (Caldesi, London) : Volatile, porty, stewed nose. Sweaty. Bretty. Not apealing at all. ?out of condition. NR.

1995 vintage

Meerlust Rubicon Offline (Caldesi, London) : Again, slightly bacony with high-toned cherry. Savoury. A bit dilte on the finish though. 4-

1999 vintage

Meerlust Rubicon Vertical (Caldesi, London) : This has blackberry, chocolate and leather on the nose. Nice smooth, rich, velvety palate. This feels the most international of the wines here today. Was there a change in winemaking in 1998/99? Very Good indeed.

1999 vintage

Nice bordeaux style claret that has taken on secondary nuances. The tannins are now round and well resolved but the wine is not particularly memorable. Only gives up hints of spice, currants and cedar on the nose. The mid palate is velvet and smooth with plenty of red fruit but the finish is short a little abrupt.

1995 vintage

Wines on a summer evening (On the Thames at Richmond,Surrey) : Ruby/purple colour.Gorgeous bouquet of black fruit,cassis ,vanilla and oak. Intense flavours on the palate of blackcurrents,rich creamy texture,very elegant and nice length.

1999 vintage

The Third Annual Blind Challenge (Establishment Restaurant, Manchester) : A slightly stinky nose with some drains and some VA. Decent palate. A bit high toned, but the high tones don't for me redeem what just seems to be a dull Bordeaux blend that's slightly clumsy. Though, to be entirely fair, it is probably suffering by coming after the two sweeties.

1999 vintage

Easy tanninns, not chewy at all, with hints of vanilla and cherry. Smooth finish on the pallette.

1999 vintage

young, strong tannins, needs to be aged for several years, good potential, paid $43/btl

1999 vintage

I was underwhelmed when I first opened this. Tart red fruit, stalky smells, green pepper, a lot of stuff that seems out of balance. However, there were some alluring scents of tobacco and a building note of cassis. And the acid, while a bit raspy, does keep this very fresh and drinkable. Probably about 83-85 points on day1. DAY 2: Hmm, now this is different, definitely more of a Bordeaux edge with none of the unappealing underripe notes from yesterday. …

1999 vintage

Deep Purple robe Cassis and dark fruits on nose Quite mature on palate, soft ripe tannins, no wood notes Lovely but quite simple more mature Bordeaux Style

1999 vintage

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Meerlust, Rubicon, Stellenbosch

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