Meerlust Cabernet Sauvignon
£32.00
£42.67 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
In Stock — 8 bottles available
94Tim Atkin MW
93Platter's South African Wine Guide
Meerlust's straight Cabernet is Stellenbosch in a glass, structured, savoury, and quietly serious. Drawn from estate blocks just a few kilometres from False Bay, it's the kind of Cabernet that rewards a proper meal and a little patience. If you want to understand why Stellenbosch is called the Kingdom of Cabernet, start here.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
Our Verdict
We've been pouring Meerlust for years, and this straight Cabernet sometimes gets overshadowed by its more famous sibling, the Rubicon. That's a mistake. We chose it for the collection because it offers a purer, more focused expression of what Stellenbosch can do with a single grape, all the structure and savoury depth of a serious Bordeaux, with a Cape brightness all its own. It's a wine for someone who enjoys their Cabernet honest and unshowy, who'd rather have precision than power. If you love this, the Rubicon is the natural next step.
Tasting Notes
Deep crimson in the glass, with a youthful intensity that announces this is built to last. The nose layers dark cassis and red cherry with a whisper of dried herb, that classic Stellenbosch graphite edge meeting Cape sunshine. The palate is properly structured, fresh red cherry running through a tight framework of fine, chalky tannins that grip without harshness. A long, savoury finish keeps pulling you back for another sip.
Cassis & Red Cherry
Classic Cabernet fruit at its most pure, bright red cherry threading through deeper blackcurrant, never jammy, always lifted and fresh.
Dried Herb Lift
A subtle Cape fynbos note, think rosemary, bay leaf, a whisper of tobacco leaf, that adds savoury complexity beneath the fruit.
Fine-Grained Tannins
Eighteen months in French oak, much of it new, gives this a tight, chalky tannin structure that promises serious ageing potential.
About This Wine
Some Cabernets shout. This one speaks, calmly, confidently, and with a Stellenbosch accent. Meerlust has been farming the same patch of land south of Stellenbosch since 1756, with the cool breath of False Bay drifting across the vines just five kilometres away. That maritime influence is the secret behind this wine's poise: ripe black fruit balanced by a fresh, almost saline lift you simply don't find in warmer-climate Cabernets.
In the glass, expect a deep, youthful purple and a nose of cassis, dark cherry and a whisper of dried Cape herbs. The palate is where it really sings, fresh red and black fruit framed by tannins that are fine-grained rather than gripping, with the savoury length that Stellenbosch Cabernet does so well. Fruit is drawn from two distinct estate terroirs, fermented separately, then matured in French oak (around 70% new) for eighteen months. The result is polished but never glossy, with the structure to age gracefully for a decade or more.
Pour it alongside a slow-roast leg of lamb, a charcoal-grilled ribeye, or a winter venison stew. It's also a quietly brilliant gift, Meerlust is a name South African wine lovers recognise instantly, and few things land better with a homesick expat than a bottle from one of the Cape's most storied estates. Delivered to your door anywhere in the UK.
Food Pairing
This wants protein and a proper occasion. A rare-cooked rib of beef with horseradish cream is the obvious move, but it's equally at home alongside slow-roasted venison, a hearty oxtail stew, or a charcoal-grilled ribeye. For something gentler, try it with a mature Cheddar and a slice of homemade fruitcake, the savoury-sweet contrast brings out the wine's herbal lift.
- —Rare-cooked rib of beef with horseradish cream
- —Slow-roasted venison with juniper and redcurrant
- —Charcoal-grilled ribeye steak
- —Braised oxtail with root vegetables
- —Mature Cheddar with quince paste
How to Serve
Temperature
Cool room temperature, around 18°C. If your room runs warm, twenty minutes in the fridge before serving sharpens the focus.
Decanting
Give this at least an hour in a wide-bottomed decanter, ideally ninety minutes. The tannins are still young and tightly knit, air softens them and coaxes out the deeper herbal and graphite notes hiding beneath the fruit.
Glass
A large-bowled Bordeaux glass is the right call, the tall sides funnel the complex nose and let the cassis aromatics build.
Cellaring
Store on its side at 12-14°C, away from light and vibration. Properly cellared, this will reward patience for a decade or more from release.
Behind the Wine
Stellenbosch's Cabernet country runs on a simple rhythm: warm, dry summers tempered by cool air sweeping in off False Bay, which sits just five kilometres from the Meerlust vineyards. That maritime influence slows ripening, preserves acidity and lets the tannins build slowly. Meerlust draws this Cabernet from two distinct blocks on the estate, each picked and vinified separately so the team can dial in colour, perfume and structure before deciding on the final blend. The result is Cabernet with depth, freshness and an unmistakably Cape signature.
Ageing Potential
Built for the long haul. Drink now with a good hour of air, or cellar for ten to fifteen years and watch it unfold. Expect the primary cherry and cassis to gradually give way to cedar, leather, and dried tobacco, with the tannins softening into something silken.
The Land
Meerlust sits south of Stellenbosch town, only about five kilometres from False Bay, so the vineyards feel the ocean before they feel the heat. The Cabernet here is drawn from two of the estate's four distinct terroirs, each contributing something different, one block bringing perfume and lift, another supplying the dark fruit weight and tannic backbone that holds the wine together.
The Winemaking
Two separate parcels of Cabernet are harvested and fermented apart, then racked straight to barrel for six months, where malolactic fermentation happens slowly in oak rather than tank. Only after that initial settling does the blending begin, the components are tasted, selected, married together, and returned to barrel for a further twelve months of maturation. Around 70% of those barrels are new French oak, enough to lend cedar and spice without smothering the fruit. It's a patient, Bordeaux-influenced approach that rewards time in glass.
About the Producer
Meerlust
Meerlust, Dutch for 'pleasure of the sea', has been making wine since 1693, and the Myburgh family have held the estate since 1756. It was Nico Myburgh's visit to Bordeaux in 1967 that changed everything. He recognised the climatic kinship between the Eerste River Valley and the great estates of the Left Bank, and set about planting Cabernet Franc, a first for Stellenbosch. The Rubicon, first released in 1984, became South Africa's pioneering Bordeaux-style blend and remains the estate's flagship, accounting for roughly half of total production. Now in the hands of eighth-generation owner Hannes Myburgh, with winemaker Wim Truter at the helm since 2020, Meerlust continues to balance heritage with quiet evolution. The estate is a declared national monument, a fitting status for a property that helped shape the modern Cape wine landscape.