I was definitely looking forward to trying this wine, being a big fan of South African wine. At first, this had so much green pepper and mint that I was reminded of Chilean Cabs that I hate. I brought it home and, 6 hours later, I am ready to recant. It has wonderful rich fruit, nice acidity, and a lot of Cabernet Franc character to it. The green pepper/mint has faded. Excellent wine; I am sure you could put this away for a few years.

I hate to tell someone who buys this to decant it for hours. It’s not a great pitch to tell them you thought it was gross at first (and it was overpowering with menthol and green pepper) but hours later you loved it. But that’s the way it is. Open it up Saturday afternoon, drink some sparkling wine in the meantime, and then grill a steak and have the Rust en Vrede with it at dinner.