I had a tasting at meerlust and l need to say im not impressed. All wines are waaaay to oaky/buttery, the wines are unbalanced. Their pinot lacks fruit and their cap is just strait up oak juice.
The best was the "red" blend
What do you think? Am I to histerical or do you think its overhyped aswell?
If you like I can post notes of the 6 wines they let you taste. Just ask for a specific one
by SoilSweet8555
14 Comments
Last time I had it it was an unbalanced oaky monster. I haven’t had an aged example to see if it balances out. Never been a fan of any of their wines Tbf. So many better new SA producers
I remember really liking Rubicon a few years ago. When I tasted the ‘17 next to a ‘17 Poujeaux the other day and I was taken aback by how jammy and caramel-y the Rubicon was. Despite being from a poor vintage the Poujeaux was the clear winner.
Their Rubicon is pretty decent, but they are not highly regarded for their Pinot and Chard. In general, there are countless wines/estates I would recommend before Meerlust. They do have the name recognition as one of the OG wine estates in SA.
Meerlust produces very good stuff. I guess you’re not used to SA wines (which seems to be the case based on what you say is off-putting).
The best I had is a 1982 Rubicon. An absolute gem.
To bring a bit of nuance, I feel the same way about wine farms like Creation, in Hermanus. Praised in the country, but I have never been impressed with their wines.
It’s all about personal taste and preferences at the end of the day.
>What do you think? Am I to histerical or do you think its overhyped aswell?
If I had to list hyped South African wineries, I’d probably list at least 50 before I’d even consider Meerlust. See, to be overhyped you have to be hyped in the first place and Meerlust (outside of maaaaaybe Rubicon) just – isn’t. At least not in my circles, your experience might vary – but you might be listening to people who haven’t updated their knowledge of South African wine in 20 years or outright reject the newer developments.
For something to be disappointing you have to have positive expectations, and honestly, I don’t know how you would with this stuff.
Crowd pleasing industrial monster.
Rubicon is good, the rest of their wines are not. I had their chard a few weeks ago and was hugely disappointed. Storm, Ataraxia, Hamilton Russell, Thamnus (newcomer – exceptional), Uva Mira all make a significantly better Chardonnay than Meerlust.
Being an Oak fiend this might be my cup of tea 😀
For how long are you here? I can send you to some others?
I had a similar experience. Somehow the 2023 is very ,very ripe. Previous vintages were much more fresh with great acidity.
My take on Meerlust is that in the before times (i.e. when SA was isolated due to apartheid) they were miles ahead of the game. Their winemaker, Giorgio Dalla Cia was worldclass and the Rubicon was absolutely legendary. If I remember correctly it was the first real attempt at recreating a good Bordeaux blend in SA.
They mostly kept up this standard for the 90s and 2000s but by 2010 changes in winemakers and styles etc etc meant that they have kept up. They still make solid wines but they’re pretty old school (and way too expensive).
I don’t really bother with them and look more to the younger wine makers or older stand outs like Kanonkop.
Oh i like the vanilla and butter theme. The real vanilla and/or real butter. Notes on the chard?
Good but not revelatory
I wish I could find a South African wine that was stellar. When I visit I drink their $10 sparking wines that to to my taste are better than their famous reds.