Le Riche Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 vs Vergelegen V 2009
By Christian Eedes, 14 June 2024
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The South African 2009 vintage is much venerated but when retailer Wine Cellar hosted a tasting of Cape Bordeaux Red Blends from that recently there were relatively few highlights – see here. On a whim, I decided to look at two examples of straight Cabernet Sauvignon from the same vintage, tasting notes and ratings as follows:
Le Riche Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Matured for 24 months in barrel, 70% new. Black berries, cigar box, undergrowth and an intense green pepper note on the nose. Dense fruit, punchy acidity and formidable tannins – angular and still extremely grippy. A dramatic but somewhat challenging wine. Alcohol: 14.5%.
CE’s rating: 91/100.
Vergelegen V 2009
Matured for 22 months in barrel, 100% new. Red and black berries, dried flowers, mushroom and spice on the nose. The palate is balanced with succulent fruit and tannins that are resolving nicely – a wine that’s drinking well now but perhaps a bit short of detail and lacking the power necessary to last much longer. Alc: 14.28%.
CE’s rating: 93/100.
Check out our South African wine ratings database.
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Ashley Westaway | 25 June 2024
I have recently tasted the John X Merriman 2009 and the Bellevue Reserve Pinotage 2009 from my cellar. Both were very good. The John X was the most balanced that I’ve tasted from the 2003 – 2009 period.
Greg Sherwood | 14 June 2024
Interesting tasting. We sold a bunch of archive Christine Mags for Xmas 2023 from 2009 and they were a bit hard work… needing plenty of decanting.
I reckon these wines should be slumbering a bit… but I also fear that maybe the alcohols werent managed quite as well as they more recent vintages?
In the trade we certainly regard 2009 as a turning the corner type of vintage so there will be some hits and some misses.
Gareth | 14 June 2024
Hi Christian. Do you think the Le Riche will improve with time – that maybe it’s just in an awkward phase at the moment?
I had a bottle of Buiten Christine 09 last year and it was quite hard work to be honest. I wondered at the time whether my remaining bottles will improve with more time or just fall out of balance completely
Christian Eedes | 14 June 2024
Hi Gareth, Frankly, I can’t see the tannins on the Le Riche ever resolving. In general, I think 2009 was over-hyped – viticulture and winemaking has improved significantly since then. I’d advise drinking all 2009s in your cellar – 2015, 2017 and 2021 set to give much more pleasure in time.