30 Year Anniversary of Meerlust Rubicon

Nobody said crossing the Rubicon would be easy. The Rubicon was the name of the river crossed by Julius Caesar when he advanced upon Rome to wrest sole control over the ancient city from the senate and its ruling triumvirate of consuls in 49BC.

It is said that when you “Cross the Rubicon“, it means you have made a decision and cannot go back.  Thirty years ago, Nico Myburgh, Meerlust’s seventh-generation owner and vintner from the 1950s to the 1980s, committed his pioneering vision of a Cape version of the classic Bordeaux red blend to bottle in 1980.  And thus Meerlust’s Rubicon was born in 1984.

Nico Myburgh had committed himself to his vision of making a premium red blend after travelling in France in 1967 and visiting some of the most renowned Bordeaux estates.

In the three-centuries-old South African Cape Dutch homestead,  the 30th vintage of Meerlust Rubicon has been assembled from the farm’s finest barrels of 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. And, for the first time, a dash of another classic Bordeaux blending ingredient has been added: Petit Verdot. This wine will be released in 2014, as per tradition of waiting for four years after bottling to let the wine’s components integrate.

The Meerlust Rubicon 2001 was listed as No 27 in the Top 100 wines for 2006 by Wine Enthusiast and winning the Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande trophy for best red blend at the 2006 International Wine & Spirit Competition in London. The Meerlust Rubicon 2004 was awarded 90 points by Wine Spectator in 2008 and voted best New World red in Decanter in 2009.

I have tried the Meerlust Rubicon in the past through the South World Wine Society and can vouch for the quality of this wine.  I am also a fan of the Meerlust Chardonnay and the Meerlust Merlot.  You cannot go wrong with any of these wines.  For more information about Meerlust and Rubicon. Enjoy!