Plaisir de Merle Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa 75cl

Plaisir de Merle is a historic estate at Simondium in Paarl, established by French Huguenots in 1693 on the slopes of the Simonsberg. It has a long-held reputation for polished red wines, with Niel Bester as cellarmaster shaping its house style since the early 1990s.

This is the estate’s flagship grape. Cabernet Sauvignon here comes from vineyards set between roughly 180 and 400 metres, where the high peaks of the Simonsberg shade the fruit from the fiercest late-afternoon sun and help retain freshness. The wine is matured in French oak barrels for well over a year, which frames rather than dominates the fruit.

The 2015 vintage is widely regarded as one of the Cape’s finest in recent memory, a dry, even season with a smaller crop that produced concentrated, balanced reds. That quality shows in the wine’s depth and poise, and it has helped the wine age gracefully in the years since release.

Deep red in the glass, it is aromatic with red and black berry fruit, sweet spice and hints of vanilla and cedar from the oak. The palate is full and generous, with ripe, well-integrated tannins and a savoury, lingering finish. This is Cabernet with polish rather than rough edges. Give it a decant and serve with grilled steak, roast lamb, a rich stew or a mature hard cheese.

If you enjoy classically styled Cabernet Sauvignon in a Bordeaux idiom, this is a dependable, age-worthy example from one of Paarl’s landmark properties. A confident red for a special dinner, with the structure to reward a few more years in the cellar.