Rensburg and Rolland aim for Cape’s first 100 point wine

Cape wine estate Vergelegen hopes to create South Africa’s first 100-point wine with the help of famous French consultant Michel Rolland.

Michel Rolland

At a tasting in London on Wednesday this week, Michel Rolland and Vergelegen winemaker André van Rensburg showed the results of their collaboration since 2013, which is a partnership designed to create the Cape’s highest-scoring wine ever.

Speaking to the drinks business after the tasting, Rensberg explained his reasons for hiring a wine consultant, the first time Vergelegen has used outside help. “I chose to work with Michel [Rolland] because I want to see what we can really do at Vergelegen, I have just six vintages left – I work for a publicly listed company and I have to retire at 60 – and I want to leave Vergelegen where it should be.”

Continuing he said, “Vergelegen is probably the wine estate with the greatest potential in the world; I realise it has not yet done its best.”

“For me, it really is about getting Vergelegen to where it can comfortably perform,” he added.

Currently, he told db that Vergelegen has yet to receive scores of more than 95 points, although he added that the wines “consistently get 90-95 points”.

“We have to up our game,” he admitted, noting that the experience of Rolland – particularly in terms of blending – has helped Vergelegen “improve the mouthfeel of the wines without bringing massive abvs”.

“I’ve been at Vergelegen for 19 vintages and Michel has 43 years experience, and two heads are better than one,” he said, further explaining his decision to enlist Rolland’s help.

André van Rensburg

He also said that he has particularly high hopes for a 300-case batch of Merlot from the 2014 vintage, a grape that is Rolland’s specialism.

Indeed, he recorded, “Michel said that this wine must be the best Merlot outside Pomerol.”

Continuing, he told db how the ultimate goal for Vergelegen was to use Rolland’s help to create a 100-point wine.

“Michel and I don’t argue because we have a common goal, we just want to show what we can do together, have fun, and maybe rock some boats,” he said, before admitting, “We are calling it the 100 point project”.

In a more light-hearted manner, he added, “It is do or die, before I go there has to be a 100 point wine, otherwise I will be eternally damned, and for Michel, it is a challenge: if he can make the first 100 point wine from South Africa he will be canonised, he will become the greatest wine consultant that ever lived, he’ll go straight to heaven, and sit right next to St Peter.”

Ahead of the 2014 harvest, André requested the opportunity to work with Michel Rolland to, in his words, “finesse the last 5% to 8% out of Vergelegen’s amazing vineyards.”

Rolland, who had until six years ago consulted for the Rupert & Rothschild South African estate called Fredericksburg, said that he couldn’t resist André’s request to consult for Vergelegen.

“I was not ready to go back to South Africa, and I told André that, but after 30 minutes talking to him, with a personality like that, you want to work with him,” he said.

He told db that he had only made “minor adjustments” to the viticultural and winemaking approaches at Vergelegen, while telling attendees of the tasting that he has helped the Cape estate with his “huge experience” gained through 43 years of working in the wine industry.