Vergelegen: the first release of the top wines under new winemaker Luke O’Cuinneagain
I visited Vergelegen a while ago, seeing how this celebrated wine estate has emerged from a period of underperformance under the leadership of new winemaker Luke O’Cuinneagain (pictured above).
In short, Vergelegen was a huge presence on the South African wine scene back in the early 2000s, but in recent years had not delivered wines of the same quality, while other players had emerged operating at a high level. Vergelegen wasn’t where it should be, hence the appointment of Luke.
Things take time in wine, and so for the first couple of years of his tenure, all he could show was the wines from the previous regime, which weren’t very good, and the cheaper fast turnover wines. This isn’t an ideal situation, because you don’t want to be bad-mouthing wines you still have for sale in your cellar, but at the same time, it’s hard to stand behind someone else’s work.
Now we have the first releases of the top wines that were fully under his watch, from start to finish (he blended the top 2022 reds, but they weren’t his wines). A dinner was convened at the excellent Labombe by Trivet restaurant (newly Michelin starred) and we tasted through them.
Luke chose a tricky vintage for the first one entirely under his control: the 2023. This was the vintage where it rained and rained, and not at the right time. The weather in December was almost biblical, with thunderstorms and fires. It cooled off, and then in February it started raining. In the February-April harvest period of 2023 there were 171 mm of rain. By comparison, 2022 saw 51 mm, 2024 saw 59 mm and 2025 saw 55 mm. With picking delayed, Luke says it gave him a lot of time to walk the vineyards. ‘I learned a lot from it,’ he says, and was averaging 35 000 steps a day getting to know the property. And in the end, he managed to get some good grapes into the cellar. ‘2023 is lighter and more elegant in style,’ he says, ‘with a red fruit spectrum. ‘2024 has a lot more density.’
Vergelegen is technically in Stellenbosch, but it has a unique microclimate. Closer to the ocean, it is much cooler than the rest of Stellenbosch, and the climate is closer to Elgin than the Simonsberg.
Luke grew up in Constantia. ‘I thought I understood turbulent weather,’ he says, ‘until I came to this estate. It’s raw and turbulent.’
Vergelegen Chardonnay 2024 Stellenbosch, South Africa
This is bright and fruit-focused with lovely citrus fruit. It has a bright stoniness and good acidity. This is chiselled and fresh with nice finesse and purity. Great acid line here: it’s a very focused wine with lovely purity. 93/100
Vergelegen Estate White Blend 2024 Stellenbosch, South Africa
52% Semillon, 48% Sauvignon. This is lovely with amazing acidity (the pH is below 3), nice purity, a touch of smoky grapefruit and chiselled acidity. Lovely lemon and pear fruit with a subtle hint of wax. Really fine. 95/100
Vergelegen Reserve Merlot 2023 Stellenbosch, South Africa
Picked at the beginning of when the rains started. So bright and pure with red cherries, a touch of raspberry brightness, and then a subtle chalky edge to the palate. This has some structure, but it’s all about the beautiful, expressive red fruits. There’s a bit of chalkiness on the mid-palate that works really well. 93/100
Vergelegen Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2024 Stellenbosch, South Africa
This is Cabernet from Clovelly and Hutton soils. Lovely vibrant, aromatic nose with blackcurrant fruit and some leafy green notes. It’s really expressive with sweet fruit on the palate and lovely purity. Grainy structure is well covered by the fruit, and it has a core of sweetness. Grainy with some tannic structure on the finish. Really appealing. 93/100
Vergelegen Estate Red 2023 Stellenbosch, South Africa
41% Cab 39 M 10 CF 5Malbec 5 Petit Verdot. This has a really appealing gravelly, chalky edge to the sweet blackberry and blackcurrant fruit. It has fantastic drinkability, but also some nice structure. There’s a nice lightness and freshness from the vintage, but there’s also substantial sweet fruit, with a nice acid line and fine structure. 94/100
Vergelegen ‘V’ 2023 Stellenbosch, South Africa
Cabernet Sauvignon from Glenrosa and Pineneedle soils. 18 months in oak, 30% new. These give a darker expression of Cabernet, and also a bit of sappiness. Concentrated and dense with firm tannins sitting under a wall of sweet blackcurrant fruit. Grippy and substantial, but also with good structure. There’s a freshness here, and it’s quite expressive. Very serious, and with all this structure, lots of potential. 95/100
Vergelegen ‘V’ 2024 Stellenbosch, South Africa
2% Petit Verdot in the blend. Concentrated and intense with lovely brightness. Firm tannins and fresh acidity underneath concentrated blackcurrant fruit, with a sweetness to the fruit. There’s a similar sappiness here that complements the bold fruit. And while it’s tannic, the structure is cloaked by the sweet fruit. Grippy but refined. In time this may well eclipse the 2023 (I’m tasting this very young). 95/100
