De Grendel Rubaiyat 2015: Suave, elegant, luscious!

De Grendel’s Rubaiyat is named after the collection of quatrains from Omar Khayyam, the 11^th Century Persian poet and astronomer. The 2015 vintage is a classic ensemble of cabernet sauvignon (70%), petit verdot (25%), merlot (4%) and cabernet franc (1%).

The cabernet sauvignon vineyards for this Bordeaux-style blend are situated in the Firgrove area, about 6 km from False Bay. The merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot are from De Grendel. The grapes are selected from specific sites with the focus being on soil types, age of vines and low yields.

A portion of this wine was made by aerated pump-overs in a closed tank with extended skin contact. The rest was made by the punch-down method where a pneumatic punch-down system was used four times a day. This method ensured more aggressive extraction. These two portions were kept separate during pressing and then blended when going in to 100% new French oak barrels where malolactic fermentation took place. The wine matured in these barrels for another 18 months.

What’s in the Bottle?

This is NOT an easy-drinking wine. On the contrary, it’s a full-bodied, bold and complex wine, yet simultaneously elegant, suave and luscious. It’s the kind of wine that makes you think and invites conversation when you’re with wine enthusiast friends. It’s also an excellent food wine and proved to be the perfect “guest” at our table one day!

In the glass the wine displays a deep, dark plum colour. The nose is teased with aromas of plums, liquorice, dark chocolate and fynbos which carry through to the palate where crème de cassis, vanilla, black berries and hints of cedar join the ensemble. Gentle tannins in perfect harmony and a lingering, mouth-watering finish … and you’re ready for the next sip.

Match this wine with food that does it justice and you’ll have a feast of a time. We had it with a classic boeuf bourguignon (and felt like we were back in France!), but it is also recommended with a juicy Chateaubriand (or any other decent steak, for that matter), roast poultry, oxtail and lamb shank.

Needless to say, De Grendel’s 2015 Rubaiyat has awards to prove its class (as if it needs them!), like gold at the 2019 Michelangelo International Wine & Spirit Awards. But the proof of the pudding is in the eating, as the saying goes, and the proof of the Rubaiyat is undoubtedly in the drinking!

I score wines purely on how much I enjoy them, and for pure pleasure and enjoyment, the De Grendel Rubaiyat 2015 gets a 90/100.

If you can’t lay your hands on a 2015 vintage, don’t worry, the Rubaiyat 2018 is available on the estate for about R440 per bottle.

For more information, or to lay your hands on “suave, elegant and luscious”, call 021 558 6280 or send an email to info@degrendel.co.za, or visit www.degrendel.co.za.

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