Meerlust Estate is one of South Africa’s oldest and most iconic wine estates, and a new book, Meerlust: Beyond the Rubicon, captures its winemaking philosophy through the decades. Suzaan Potgieter from Die Burger newspaper spoke to the book’s author, Emile Joubert, about the story behind it.
Meerlust was founded in Stellenbosch in 1693, yet your book coincides with the 50th anniversary of the estate’s first bottled wine. Why focus on only 50 years when the farm is so old?
That’s one of the reasons I wanted to write this book, not just to tell Meerlust’s story, but to trace the beginnings of South Africa’s modern wine industry. The estate’s first owner, Henning Huising, like many Stellenbosch farmers of the time, planted vineyards and made wine. The Myburgh family, who bought Meerlust in 1756, continued that tradition. But until the 1970s, most Stellenbosch and South African wine farmers sold their grapes or bulk wine to the large corporate cellars like KWV, Distillers, and the Stellenbosch Farmers Winery.
It was only in the 1970s that visionary farmers began bottling wine under their own labels. Today this is seen as normal, but fifty years ago it was revolutionary. People often talk about the “Revolution” in South African wine that began twenty years ago with the so-called Swartland Rebels, but the real revolution was the birth of the estate wine movement in the 1970s. Those pioneers changed the trajectory of South African wine forever.
Meerlust’s role in that shift was led by Nico Myburgh, father of current owner Hannes Myburgh. He features prominently in your book. What did you discover about him?
The memory of Oom Nico was one of my main motivations for writing this book. Not only do I feel his contribution to South African wine has never received the recognition it deserves, but he was also a dear friend of my parents. And I wanted to honour Oom Nico, partly in their name. Through my mother and father, I met him as a teenager on Meerlust. Listening to him talk about wine, his love of the land, and his reverence for nature left a lasting impression. With his sparkling eyes, magnificent moustache, and calm, resonant voice, he exuded authority and worldly wisdom.
He took over the reins from his father in 1959, becoming the seventh generation of Myburghs on Meerlust, restored the manor house and the cellar, and then turned his attention to the wines themselves. He wasn’t content to sell bulk Chenin Blanc, Colombar, and Cinsaut to the big companies, but wanted wines that expressed Meerlust’s history, its unique geography and its soul in wines proudly bearing the Meerlust name, but were influenced by the great wines of France.
Anyone who knows farming understands what a massive leap that was, both financially and conceptually. But after visiting Bordeaux in the 1960s, Nico showed his instinctive understanding of wine. He noticed the similarities between Bordeaux’s climate and soils and those of Meerlust. So, he began uprooting the old “factory vineyards” and replanting with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc.
The first wine produced under the Meerlust label was the 1975 Cabernet Sauvignon, released in 1978. According to Michael Fridjhon, arguably South Africa’s foremost wine critic, who remembers that launch, it was a landmark moment in our wine history. The name Meerlust, the charisma of Nico Myburgh, and the rarity of Cabernet Sauvignon at the time meant Meerlust entered the scene with a bang.
How does a winery like Meerlust maintain its reputation in an industry where it seems ten new brands appear every year?
Before answering that, I have to mention the Rubicon. The Merlot and Cabernet Franc Nico planted were intended to complement Cabernet Sauvignon in a red Bordeaux-style blend. Welgemeend in Paarl was the first to release such a wine from the 1979 vintage, but it was Meerlust’s Rubicon — made from the 1980 harvest — that truly captured the imagination.
I was at university when the wine was released in 1984, and even us BA students in Stellenbosch, mostly city kids who drank Tassenberg, knew that South Africa finally had a great wine, and its name was Rubicon.
In my view, that wine secured Meerlust’s place among the country’s top wineries, a position it still maintains to this very day. Once again, Rubicon reflected Nico’s vision and the estate’s deep sense of gravitas. Above all, it remains a masterful wine, a pioneer and a cornerstone of South African wine history.
Of course, maintaining that reputation is no easy task, something many of today’s trendier wineries will realise in a decade or two. When Hannes inherited Meerlust from his father in 1988, he faced an enormous responsibility. It hasn’t always been easy, but the Myburgh genes run strong. With his charm, dignity, and wide network of friends around the world, Hannes has become a true ambassador for Meerlust, and for South African wine.
Hannes also understands that there are no shortcuts to quality. That’s why he surrounds himself with exceptional people. Wim Truter, Meerlust’s current winemaker, is one of the most talented I’ve met in my thirty years in the wine world. For the book, I spent several days with him in the vineyards, gaining a deeper appreciation for the estate’s remarkable soils and climate, and for the passion he, Hannes, and their team bring to crafting these brilliant wines.
At the launch event for the book and Meerlust’s 50th vintage celebration, Wim said: “The best Rubicons are still to come.” I believe him.
Meerlust: Beyond the Rubicon is published by Jonathan Ball Publishers and available at bookstores and at www.meerlust.co.za.