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Wine goes with many things in life. One of them is poetry. The De Grendel Rubaiyat brings these two elements together in perfect harmony and in a very natural way. The Rubaiyat is named after a series of quatrains by the famous Persian polymath, Omar Khayyam. Each vintage vintage bears one of his quatrains on the label and, if you read his quatrains, it is evident that Khayyam valued wine highly.
When I presented this wine at a recent tasting, I could not help to take my printed book with the English translation of these poems by Edward FitzGerald and read the relevant quatrain before we tasted the wine. What is amazing about this wine is that one does not (and should not) get distracted by the story of the wine or the poetry on the label: what is inside the bottle is outstanding!
The Rubaiyat, as the flagship wine of De Grendel, is a Cabernet Sauvignon dominated Bordeaux-style blend and the uncommon distribution of grape varieties make this a super blend. It has a deep garnet colour and is forthcoming on the nose with hints of plums, spice, black olives, and leather. On the palate it is a powerful wine that concentrates on the palate. Red and black fruits, plums, cassis and coffee bean notes are very prominent, it has a good freshness and gripping tannins. The wine has a long-lingering aftertaste with secondary and tertiary flavours that remain behind.
I have no doubt that this wine will develop well over the next 10-15 years, softening the tannins and maintaining the fruitiness and acidity. It is definitely among the top South African Bordeaux-style blends in its price class (below R500) and a must-try for any person who appreciates a good red blend!
Producer: De Grendel
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon 55%, Petit Verdot 35%, Merlot 6%, Cabernet Franc 6%
Vintage: 2017
Origin: Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Winemaker: Charles Hopkins
Closure: Natural cork
Alcohol: 14.9%
RS: 2.3g/l
Average price: R410
Rating: 96/100
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