Collectors of top South African wines have the opportunity to add some notable bottles to their cellars with the release of three highly anticipated Vergelegen wines dating as far back as 2001.

Vergelegen has released the superb Platter five star GVB Red 2014 and 2015 wines

Vergelegen GVB Red 2014 and 2015

These two vintages, from the 321-year-old Somerset West estate’s flagship range, were awarded five stars in the Platter’s Wine Guide in the red blends, Cape Bordeaux section.

“Only the Rondekop vineyards are used for the production of the Vergelegen GVB,” says winemaker André van Rensburg, who is currently engaged in his 24th harvest at the estate. (GVB indicates Grown, Vinified and Bottled.)

“Rondekop are dry-land vineyards with a planting density of 4000 vines to the hectare on granitic soils. A deep clay/pebble base offers excellent water retention. Planted at 180-220 meters above sea level, the vines are cooled by moderate sea breezes every afternoon, allowing for a longer growing season.”

The wine is available from the estate and can be enjoyed now or for another 15 years. The GVB Red 2014 retails for R615/bottle. Collectors can also acquire the 2015 vintage by purchasing a combined package of one 2014 bottle and one 2015 bottle for R985.00.

Recorking the limited release Vergelegen GVB Red 2001

Recorking a limited release

The cellar team has also completed the painstaking process of recorking 126 bottles of 20-year wine with corks guaranteed not to taint the wines. The result is a limited release of Vergelegen GVB Red 2001, available from the estate for R1500/bottle.

Each new cork has a number linked to a recorked certificate on the bottle. “Out of 126 wines we recorked, only two were spoilt. Totally unbelievable for a 20-year-old wine,” remarked van Rensburg, who tasted every single bottle for faults before recorking.

Abundant awards

Vergelegen already lists over 200 awards for its wines and exquisite property, which was judged the best winery in Africa in the 2019 World's Best Vineyard awards. Now a fresh swathe of local and international wine awards has been added to the collection.

The Vergelegen Reserve Merlot 2015 scored 93 points and took Best Merlot 2020 in the 2020 Prescient Awards.

2020 Prescient awards: Winemag.co.za reviewed a total of 927 wines across 20 wine categories in reports sponsored by financial services company Prescient.