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Rustenberg Wines

This spectacular old estate on the lower slopes of Stellenbosch's Simonsberg, which dates back to the late 1600s, has seen some changes since their long-time winemaker Adi Badenhorst left in 2007 to establish his own venture in the Swartland. For starters, owner Simon Barlow sold his very successful entry-level Brampton brand and introduced a series of Established 1682 bottlings to take its place. In recent years an important focus here has been on new Burgundy clones of Chardonnay, and the Barlows (Simon's son Murray is the cellarmaster) have also been planting Malbec.

The overall breakdown here is 40% white wines and 60% red (including 2% rosé), but Murray Barlow noted that Rustenberg "atypically" is not focused on Chenin Blanc or Pinotage. He told me that the 2012, 2013 and 2014 vintages all favored white wines on the farm. He added that the 2014 growing season, which produced Rustenberg's largest crop to date, yielded structured reds "but without huge intensity or concentration." Incidentally, the estate's top Cabernet Sauvignon used for the Peter Barlow bottling goes back to the 1980s, although there was a lot of replanting in the '90s owing to leaf roll virus and dead arm. But the 2009 bottling showed spectacularly on my recent visit.

From South Africa’s Ongoing Wine Revolution (Jun 2015) by Stephen Tanzer

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2014 Sauvignon Blanc

Release Price: $13

Color: White

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