Meerlust Rubicon 2006

Meerlust Rubicon 2006 another very impressive effort

Tasting Notes

6/28/10
74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, 8% Merlot.
The dominant character of the Cabernet Sauvignon comes forth on the nose with notes of black currant and black berry taking on complimentary nuances of cedar and tobacco box spiciness as well as some classic graphite (pencil lead) notes, with a faint hint of cocoa powder and toast pushing up through on the backend aromatically. The style that seems to be coming from winemaker Chris Williams (his second vintage of Rubicon) is about fresh, lively fruit with good acidity, the earth tones in the background, complimenting rather than dominating, letting the fruit’s vibrancy come forth, front and center. The palate offers up red currant and dark plum flavors, higher pitched and lively with a round, suppleness to the texture, with a streak of minerality pushing up on the finish. Medium fuller bodied the tannins are finer grained and powdery, making this very approachable at a young age, but still giving the structural support for at least 10 - 12 more years of further maturation. This is still a baby and has years of life ahead of it. Again for the money Rubicon has to be one of the better buys out there for a red Bordeaux style blend. This shows exceptional balance between the fruit and tannins and with further bottle age should start to show more of the nuanced earth tones that will add greater complexity. That is of course if you can keep from drinking it up before then. This is down right delicious. Bravo again to the folks at Meerlust, another exceptional effort.

Awards, Reviews and other Notes

90 pts Wine Spectator 11/15/10
Ripe and dense, but sleek and focused, with a lovely core of mulled black currant, warm fig paste and tobacco, laced with mouthwatering dark olive and iron notes that help stretch out the finish nicely. This has solid grip in reserve. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

Price

SKU

Varietal

$26.99

8914

Red Blend