Meerlust Rubicon was the first wine I bought en primeur. This is the process of buying wine while it is still aging, ahead of it coming to market. It means securing sought-after bottles at potentially lower prices while the winemakers receive an early cash flow. I felt very grown up and sophisticated and rather lucky to have a case of this renowned wine coming my way.
This is the drop that put South Africa on the fine-wine map. In the 1990s the world thought of South Africa as cheap, bulk wine producers, but a young Hannes Myburgh, the eighth-generation owner of Stellenbosch’s Meerlust Estate, was to change that. This year, Meerlust celebrates 50 years as a winery and, having met in person last summer, Myburgh invited me to stay with him during a recent visit to the Western Cape.
The main house, stuffed to the rafters with heirlooms, art and knickknacks from across the world, is a testimony to the generations who have lived here and the eccentricities of Myburgh himself. Eight dogs continuously jostle underfoot. I sleep the night in a four-poster bed from the 1700s that requires a stool to climb onto, and in the morning a stuffed alligator sits on the candlelit kitchen table and eyes me over the scrambled eggs. Though there is a tasting room to visit, unlike some of the polished properties designed for luxury tourism, Meerlust is very clearly an ancestral home and Myburgh is a warmly engaging host.
Originally the property grew grapes for other winemakers, but Myburgh’s father Nico travelled to France in the 1960s and became inspired by Bordeaux. He was convinced his land could grow the same grapes well and in 1975 he made his first Cabernet Sauvignon wine. Overcoming scepticism from other farms around him, he produced a Bordeaux-blend style wine in 1980 and named it Rubicon, in reference to Julius Caesar’s irreversible decision to cross the Rubicon River. Caesar’s decision led to civil war, thankfully Myburgh’s led to delicious wine and the world’s eventual realisation about the quality of South African vines.
“Nothing in wine can happen quickly,” says Hannes Myburgh. “It is like turning an ocean liner, you can’t make a quick turn. You need to pull up your vines, plant news ones, wait six years for the grapes to be right. There was a lot of resistance, but dad was a pioneer.” Sadly, Nico passed away in 1988 leaving his son in charge of the estate at the age of 31 and, when apartheid ended and exports opened up, Myburgh headed abroad with their wines.
“I travelled a lot, and I stayed in some really crummy places to be careful with budget, but I was confident about the quality of our wines.” It took skill, charm, timing and tenacity to get a foot in the door and impress the snobby sommeliers who doubted the refinement of African wine.
“It took a little while for people to bite, but everyone was surprised when they tried it, and I can count on one hand the times I didn’t get at least one listing. That encouraged me a lot.” His only regret is that his father never got to see how internationally beloved the wines he envisioned have become.
Like his father before him, Myburgh is an innovator and pioneer. “The wine industry is fickle, so we have spent time building trust with our consumers. They know they can trust us. There is a slump in wine right now with climate change and Gen Z drinking less, but people will never stop drinking. Wine is a living, lifestyle, feel-good product. Every vintage has a different story and to work with something like that is a wonderful privilege.”
They may be celebrating their 50-year history, but Myburgh is all about the future. “We have a clever, young, dynamic team here, my workers are supported, their kids go to school, my dogs are fed and the 2025 harvest has just come in. It’s a bumper year, a very good vintage. It’s going to be one of the big ones.”