Harvest 2026 - It's a wrap
The Meerlust 2026 harvest has definitely validated our decision to create resilient vines by focusing on soil and plant health! An incredibly dry and warm growing season has resulted in small bunches and tiny berries – the resulting intensity and concentration already evident in the young wines finishing fermentation in the cellar. The heat and dry conditions continued largely into the ripening period, although cooler than normal nighttime temperatures and misty mornings have given some respite. After the earliest start in at least a decade, the conditions of the vineyard's canopy continues to surprise.
Harvest started on 15 January, approximately 5 days earlier than the long-term average, with the picking of a young block of Chardonnay planted on the Quarry site, moving over to Pinot Noir shortly thereafter.
Merlot and Cabernet Franc followed from the 2nd February, and then on to Cabernet Sauvignon, with the last of our Cabernet Sauvignon blocks planted along the Eerste River, coming in on Thursday 5 March, resulting in the earliest end of harvest in recent history, 10 days earlier than 2025.
Overall tonnage is slightly up on 2025, with Chardonnay showing an increase in yield, and Merlot showing a slight decline.
2026 is a vintage that will be remembered as one that provided very good quality fruit as well as good quantities.
Our cellar team: Altus Treurnicht (Winemaker) with his small yet dynamic team of Eron, Marchelino and Leonie.
The newly renovated Old Distillery
We present our newly renovated Distillery, a seated tasting venue that can host up to 45 guests.
We look forward to welcoming you to Meerlust in our beautiful private tasting venue. We have the additional capacity to host groups of visitors and wine lovers alike. This enables us to share our wines and the Meerlust stories with many more fans.
Current vintage wines
Meerlust Estate wines on tasting at our cellar door as well as available to purchase online:
- Chardonnay 2024 - R390
- Pinot Noir 2024 - R 410
- Estate Red 2022 - R260
- Merlot 2023 - R470
- Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 - R490
- Rubicon 2023 - R650
Wine Club members qualify for a 10% discount, and free domestic shipping for all orders of R3 000 or more.
Click HERE to join the wine club.
Meerlust Estate Red 2022
Case: R1 450.00
Special case offer: Wine Club members save an additional 10%
92 points - Tim Atkin SA Special Report
The 'second wine' from the Estate, produced from younger vineyards that will later be included in the Rubicon blend, as well as selected vineyard sites.
The Estate Red 2022 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (50%), Cabernet Franc (40%), and Merlot (10%). Every parcel of each variety was fermented separately before undergoing 16 months of oak maturation in 300 L barrels and large foudré.
Tasting notes:
Youthful ruby red colour, with a garnet red hue. Supple red and black fruit, with warm spice on the nose with some supporting oak notes. Still young and intense, the palate is full-bodied, structured but packed with fresh red fruit and soft, rounded tannins.
Click HERE to shop the Estate Red.
Meerlust Rubicon 2023
Bottle: R650.00
Wine Safari Score: 96+ - Greg Sherwood MW
Tasting notes:
The Rubicon 2023 blend shows aromatics of ripe black currants, blueberries, damson plums with a cornucopia of sweet Christmas spices, black tea and melted caramel over fresh cedar and graphite hints. There is an impressive textural presence on the palate – opulent, dense, and fleshy, layered with crème de cassis, black cherry compote, lead pencil spice, and chalky mineral tannins that smother a cool, subtle, beautifully integrated acidity. This is, once again, the complete package – deep, textured and concentrated yet effortlessly balanced, finishing with a picante brûléed brown toast complexity. A class act that is sure to be one of the standout Cape Bordeaux blends of the vintage. Drink from 2026 to 2045+.
Click HERE to shop the Rubicon.
Visit our tasting room to taste our full range of Meerlust Wines
Our tasting room is open to receive visitors from Monday to Friday from 09h00 to 17h00, on Saturdays and Public Holidays from 10h00 to 15h00. Please note that we are closed on Sundays, New Years Day, Good Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
We'll make sure to have something special and older available for tasting.
Standard Tasting (no booking required)
We offer a tasting of our full range of wines, including the Rubicon at R150 pp, which is refundable per person who purchases wine after their tasting.
Seated VIP Tasting (booking required)
Our VIP tasting will be presented by a senior member of the team in our private seated tasting room. It includes our full range of current vintage wines, as well as an older vintage of Rubicon and one of our other Estate wines. The wines are served in Riedel varietal range glassware. A fee of R350 pp applies.
Our current older vintages on the VIP Tasting include:
- Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
- Rubicon 2015
For bookings, please email tasting@meerlust.co.za.