Vergelegen V
£75.00
£100.00 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
In Stock — 11 bottles available
95Tim Atkin MW
Vergelegen's flagship Cabernet is one of South Africa's truly serious reds, the kind of bottle Stellenbosch built its reputation on. Deep, layered and built to last, with cassis, blackberry and a lift of eucalyptus that's pure Cape. A wine for occasions worth marking, delivered to your door anywhere in the UK.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
Our Verdict
We've poured a lot of Stellenbosch Cabernet over the years, and the V keeps earning its place at the top of the list. Tim Atkin awarded it 95 points in his 2024 South Africa Special Report, and we'd happily back that call, there's a polish and length here that genuinely rivals classed-growth Bordeaux at twice the price. This is the bottle we reach for when someone asks what serious South African Cabernet tastes like, or when an occasion needs a wine with real gravitas. Stocks are limited, as they always are with the V.
Tasting Notes
Deep ruby in the glass, with a nose that unfolds in layers, blackberry and cassis first, then a wisp of eucalyptus and pencil shavings that mark this out as serious Cabernet. The palate is focused and classically proportioned, fruit concentration met by cool-climate freshness, fine-grained tannins giving shape without grip. There's a graphite minerality running through the middle, and the French oak shows as cedar and warm spice rather than vanilla sweetness. The finish is long, savoury and velvety.
About This Wine
Some South African reds whisper. The Vergelegen V doesn't, it speaks with quiet authority, the way only a wine made from the estate's very best parcels can. This is Vergelegen's flagship Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that helped convince the wine world that the Cape could play in the same league as Bordeaux and Napa. One sip and you'll understand why. Expect a deep, almost inky ruby in the glass, then a nose that unfolds in layers: blackcurrant and dark plum, the lift of crushed eucalyptus leaf that's a Cape signature, a thread of graphite and cedar from the French oak. The palate is generous but never heavy, concentrated black fruit framed by tannins that are firm, fine-grained and beautifully judged. There's freshness here too, a cooling minerality that comes from vineyards sitting just a few kilometres from the Atlantic at False Bay. This is a wine that wants a serious plate. Think a properly rested fillet, a charred rib eye, or lamb cutlets pulled off the coals while still pink in the middle. Mature hard cheeses do the trick too. It will also reward patience, tuck a bottle away for five or ten years and watch the secondary notes of leather, tobacco and forest floor emerge. A bottle this considered makes a serious gift, whether for a Cape-loving friend or a collector building a cellar. We ship across the UK.
Food Pairing
This is a wine built for red meat over open flame. A thick-cut ribeye, a fillet with peppercorn sauce, or a butterflied leg of lamb scented with rosemary and garlic, anything charred at the edges and pink in the middle. The eucalyptus note loves lamb in particular. For something gentler, try it with a slow-cooked oxtail or a board of mature hard cheeses.
- —Chargrilled ribeye with béarnaise
- —Butterflied leg of lamb with rosemary and garlic
- —Fillet steak with green peppercorn sauce
- —Slow-braised oxtail with red wine and root vegetables
- —Mature Cheddar or aged Gouda with quince paste
How to Serve
Decanting
Decant for at least an hour, ideally ninety minutes, in a wide-bottomed decanter. The tannins are still tightly knit and the aromatics need air to fully open, patience is rewarded here.
Ageing & Cellaring
This is a wine with real cellaring credentials. Drink now, decanted, for the bright fruit and aromatic lift, or tuck bottles away for five to fifteen years. With time, the primary cassis and blackberry will deepen into dried fruit, tobacco and cigar-box notes, and the tannins will resolve into something silken.
The Land
Vineyards climb between 140 and 310 metres above sea level, with slopes turning north to north-west and south to south-east, a patchwork of aspects that lets the winemaking team match each parcel to the site that suits it best. Cool maritime influence from False Bay keeps the fruit fresh and aromatic, while the elevation extends the ripening window.
The Winemaking
Only the finest Cabernet Sauvignon parcels make the cut for V, and the wine spends an extended stretch in French oak barrels, chosen for the way they lend gentle structure and a whisper of cedar without ever swamping the fruit. That patient ageing is what gives the wine its velvety finish and seamlessly integrated tannins. Nothing is rushed. The result is a Cabernet built on freshness and concentration in equal measure, classically proportioned, supple yet structured.
The Western Cape Region
Le Domaine draws its fruit from vineyards scattered across the Western Cape, from coastal sites cooled by Atlantic breezes to warmer inland slopes, all planted between 50 and 300 metres above sea level. This broad sourcing is deliberate. By blending components from different microclimates, the cellar builds a consistent house style that balances the crisp acidity of cooler sites with the ripe generosity of warmer ones. It's the Western Cape's extraordinary diversity captured in a single glass.
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.