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What if you could enjoy all the lush blackberry, plum, coffee, chocolate, and heady menthol aromas and flavors that very good young Cabernet Sauvignon has to offer, but without the baggage of Cabernet’s tannic bite? Well, now you can! Just open a bottle of the 2012 Rustenberg Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon, give it 15-20 minutes to aerate and enjoy! Deeply colored, packed with flavor and blessed with smooth ripe tannins that caress rather than bite, Rustenberg’s 2012 Stellenbosch is one luscious glass of Cabernet that is meant to please die-hard Cabernet fans as well as those too often shell shocked by Cabernet’s youthful ardor and aggressive tannins. While some Cabernet producers do manage to tame Cabernet’s astringency, they more often than not fail to deliver much of Cabernet’s heady flavors; not so with the 2012 Rustenberg. Enjoy this wine’s wonderful rich aromas and flavors without having to pay on the back end. For optimal enjoyment, we suggest decanting the 2012 Rustenberg Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon prior to serving at cool room temperature (60°-64° F). Enjoy!
Rustenberg’s intensely flavored, yet smooth and ohhh so easy to drink 2012 Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon needs only a clean glass to shine. Yet, like any good Cabernet Sauvignon, Rustenberg’s 2012 Stellenbosch Cabernet performs best in the company of meats and grilled vegetables. Prime rib, loin lamb chops, venison, and all kinds of game provide superb accompaniments. Sirloin tips, served with a wild mushroom sauce; veal and shitake stuffed ravioli; and pork tenderloins, prepared with a black currant paste or balsamic fig sauce make splendid pairings, too. Quail and other game birds also provide mouthwatering accompaniments to a bottle of the delicious 2012 Rustenberg Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon. Bon Appétit!
Stellenbosch and the surrounding wine lands of South Africa’s Western Cape hardly receive the attention and excitement they deserve. No viticultural area or major wine producing region in the world presents itself more spectacularly. The sheer physical beauty of Africa’s Western Cape, paired with commanding waves of well tended hillside vines and the proliferation of centuries old Cape Dutch architecture, makes Stellenbosch both stunningly beautiful and unique among the great wine regions of the world. And Rustenberg is one of the oldest and most influential wine estates in this majestic wine land.
One of Rustenberg’s flagship offerings is the Cabernet Sauvignon based John X. Merriman, a wine named in honor of a former owner of Rustenberg, John Xavier Merriman. Merriman bought the farm in 1892 in sympathy with farmers suffering from the phylloxera crisis. Merriman played a crucial role in revitalizing Rustenberg after the discovery of phylloxera and worked assiduously to promote tourism and the agricultural importance of Ida’s Valley, the area close to the town of Stellenbosch where Rustenberg is located. Today, the Barlow family (the proprietor of Rustenberg) carries on the tradition of John X. Merriman. The Barlows have completely revitalized the property in the post-Apartheid era and restored the vineyard and surrounding estate to its pre-phylloxera glory. And to everyone’s delight the Barlows have begun bottling a varietal Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon (this month’s feature) that would make John X. Merriman proud. It is not only the best regional varietal Cabernet Sauvignon we have tasted from Rustenberg, it is a true crowd pleaser.
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