53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Shiraz, 12% Merlot. Dark ruby. Too much wood on the nose with red berries. Medium-full bodied, with lots of wood, smoky red fruit. Moderate finish, 30s, with smoke. 85 points (10/21/2005).

I haven't had the 2001, but this is IMO one of the better wine producers in South Africa.

I had this wine last year and while I didn't take any tasting notes I remeber it being quite good. The 2001 Rust En Vrede Estate is a highly regarded wine/vintage in South Africa (5 stars from John Platter, 4 stars from WINE magazine). I'll have to try another one soon to get a formal note together.

From a little more poking around... (on http://www.rustenvrede.com/wine_accolades.htm)

RUST EN VREDE ESTATE

VINTAGE: 2002
- Fairbairn Capital Trophy wine Show Bronze

VINTAGE: 2001
• John Platter Wine Guide 5 stars
• Wine Spectator (USA) 92/100
• San Francisco International Wine Competition 2005 Bronze

VINTAGE: 2000
• 2003 SA Wine Trophy Show Gold and Trophy for best Shiraz blend
• Wine Spectator (USA) 92/100
• Wine Spectator (USA) Top100 Wine of the World (4th year)
• John Platter Wine Guide 5 stars
• Wine Magazine (SA) 4,5 stars
• Veritas Awards Gold

VINTAGE: 1999
• John Platter: 4,5 stars
• Wine Spectator (USA): 91/100
• Wine Spectator (USA): Top100 Wine of the World (3rd year)
• Veritas Awards: Gold medal
• Wine magazine (South Africa) 4.5 stars- Oct 2002
• Charles Metcalfe- Wine International (UK) 94 points
• Lufthansa: First Class Selection
• South African Young Wine Show: Best blend from Stellenbosch

VINTAGE: 1998
• John Platter: 5 stars
• Wine Spectator (USA): 91/100
• Wine Spectator (USA): Top100 Wine of the World
• Wine Magazine (South Africa): 4.5/5 stars- Jan 2003
4/5 stars- Sep 2001
3/5 stars- SATWS 2002
• Veritas Awards: Silver medal
• Mundus Vini (Germany): Gold Medal (88/100)

One final thing, your tasting note seems in keeping with the particular style of this wine as pointed out in this interesting article http://www.rustenvrede.com/news18.htm

It's interesting to note what a great website this winery has. It doesn't attempt to blow it's own horn at all and just trascribes all scores/reviews whether complimentary or not. It's quite a noble thought when compared to that Lenz winery that people were writing about in the Everything about wine forum a few days ago.

Apologies for the long post, it started off quite short, and then I found the winerys website and the post grew

Great info winewill! It was the '99 Stellenbosch I had... enjoyed it very much.

Rust en Vrede makes some very nice wines, especially Shiraz and Cab blends. It would be considered one of the higher end wineries down here.

In the last 8 months here, it is clear that SA wines have gotten much better over the last 5 five years. Given that I live in SA now and the only wines that you can find here are SA, I tend to try many of them. Can be good value for the money. What you find in the States from SA is very limited and overpriced.

Doc

Doc_

I can't remember names, but when I visited, I also remember having a nice merlot or two... definitely some good QPR wines in the 85-89 range... can't say I had many over 90 in the 16 nights I was there. Then again, the wines weren't exactly expertly chosen.

Brad,

I tend to agree. Three that I have found over 90 so far are (1) Sarona 2004 Shiraz, (2) Tokara 2003 Stellenbosh, and (3) Le Riche Reserve Cab 2002. The other problem is that most of the wines will not live past 5 years. It is a function of the wine making industry right now--to make easy drinking wine for the public in order to make a quick buck. For most producers, there is not a long term vision.

Doc

For some other 90+ wines that will age well, try the meerlust rubicon (I had the pleasure of enjoying the 1984 recently which was superb), the vergelegen red blend or the rustenberg Peter Barlow. All are impressive in their own right and can age very well if from the righ vintages (I'm currently sitting on 1997-2000 Rubicon, 2000/2001 vergelegen and 1999 Peter Barlow).

Winewill,

The 1984 vintage did produce some nice wines in SA, which have aged well. I agree on the Peter Barlow. For me, 1999, 2001, and 2003 are very nice. The next line for Rustenberg is "John X Merrimen", which is also worth the money. In terms of Rubicon, the last one I had was a 2000, which seemed tired and dull. It could have been the bottle though. Never been a fan of Vergelegen. Too "green" to me. I have followed Vergelen since 1999. Just not my taste.

Doc

The Rustenberg 'John X Merrimen' and the Warwick 'Three Cape Ladies' are 2 excellent blends. They're the two South African reds that I drink the most and I've never had a bad bottle of either, mind you they will never be 'Wow' wines. They offer excellent QPR value though.

I agree on both, Winewill. Warwick's other blend is Trilogy. Nice as well, but pricy given the SA market. Drinking Waterword cab 2000 this evening. It should be a-ok with the burgers.

Doc

Just don't put South Africa's version of "ketchup" on that burger! *shiver*