Vergelegen MMV Brut
£30.00
£40.00 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
Out of Stock
Cap Classique made the proper way: 100% Chardonnay, bottle-fermented, aged patiently on its lees until the bubbles turn creamy and the fruit takes on a whisper of toast. Vergelegen sits within sight of False Bay, and you can taste that cool Atlantic edge in every glass. A South African sparkler with genuine celebration credentials.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
UK wide delivery
Expert curated
Sourced direct
Our Verdict
We keep coming back to this one. Vergelegen has the estate, the history and the cool-climate fruit to make Cap Classique that stands up to anything in its price bracket, and the MMV proves it: precise, biscuity, properly dry, and completely free of the sweetness that sinks so many entry-level sparklers. It's the bottle we recommend to customers who love grower Champagne but want to explore what the Cape does with the same rulebook. A featured favourite for a reason, and one we'd happily open without an occasion.
Tasting Notes
A fine, persistent mousse rises through pale gold, carrying aromas of lemon zest, green apple and warm brioche. The palate is precise and cool: baked apple and citrus pith wrapped in that toasty, biscuity character that only extended lees ageing delivers. There's a whisper of spice, a chalky mineral core, and a creamy texture that keeps everything balanced. The finish is long, refreshing, and cleanly dry.
About This Wine
Here's the thing about Cap Classique: when it's done well, it doesn't need to apologise to anyone, Champagne included. Vergelegen's MMV is one of those bottles. Made from 100% Chardonnay grown on the cool, sea-breezed slopes above Somerset West, it's a Blanc de Blancs in the classical mould, fermented in the bottle and rested on its lees long enough to build real depth and character. Expect a fine, persistent mousse and a nose that leads with citrus and green apple before opening into baked apple, brioche and a subtle spiced-toast note from the extended lees ageing. The palate is creamy and precise, with a mineral thread running through the middle and a long, clean, refreshing finish. It's elegant rather than showy, which is exactly what you want in a serious sparkling wine. Pour it as an aperitif at a proper occasion, or put it to work at the table. It's magnificent with fresh oysters, smoked salmon on blinis, or tempura prawns. It also handles a cheese board with more grace than most sparkling wines manage, particularly alongside a soft, bloomy Brie or a nutty aged Comte. We deliver across the UK, and this is one to keep in mind whenever a birthday, anniversary or Christmas toast is on the horizon. Sending it as a gift? It arrives with the sort of quiet confidence that says you know what you're doing.
Food Pairing
This is proper celebration wine, but don't stop at the aperitif. The fine mousse and citrus drive make it a natural with a plate of fresh oysters, smoked salmon blinis, or crisp tempura prawns. The toasty depth handles richer dishes too: try it with a wedge of aged Comte, a creamy chicken pie, or fish and chips done properly.
- —Fresh oysters with a squeeze of lemon
- —Smoked salmon on rye with creme fraiche
- —Tempura prawns with dipping sauce
- —Aged Comte or mature Cheddar
- —Battered cod and chips with malt vinegar
How to Serve
Decanting
No decanting needed. Open just before serving to preserve that fine, persistent mousse. If the wine seems too cold and closed, let the glass warm slightly in your hand to release the toasty aromatics.
Ageing & Cellaring
Best enjoyed on release while the mousse is at its liveliest and the citrus fruit is fresh. A well-cellared bottle will hold for two or three years, gaining a touch more nutty, honeyed complexity as the toasty lees character deepens.
The Land
The vineyard blocks climb between 140 and 310 metres above sea level, on slopes facing north to north-west and south to south-east. That range of altitudes and aspects means the Chardonnay ripens slowly and unevenly across the estate, giving the winemaking team a broad palette of parcels to draw from. The result is bright acidity, mineral cut, and layered fruit.
The Winemaking
MMV is made in the traditional method, the same painstaking process used for Champagne. A base wine of pure Chardonnay undergoes a second fermentation in bottle, trapping those fine, persistent bubbles that give Cap Classique its signature fine mousse. Extended time on the lees, around two years before disgorgement, is where the magic happens: yeast cells slowly break down and lend that unmistakable toasty, brioche-like complexity that layers over the bright citrus and orchard fruit of cool-climate Chardonnay.
About the Producer
Vergelegen
Vergelegen has been making wine since 1700, founded by Cape governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel and now standing as the third-oldest winemaking estate in the country. Anglo American took stewardship in 1987 and committed to the kind of long-horizon thinking the place deserves, restoring 2,240 hectares of native fynbos across the 3,000-hectare estate and earning South Africa's first BWI 'Champion' status for its conservation work. The winery itself is built into a hilltop, an octagonal structure echoing the walled garden van der Stel laid out three centuries ago. Today Luke O'Cuinneagain leads the cellar, bringing experience from Bordeaux, California and Stellenbosch, and a quiet philosophy of minimal intervention and patient stewardship.