The John X Merriman is a powerful wine that rewards aging. In its youth the wine is worth decanting and expresses cassis, blackcurrant and dark fruits complemented with cigar tobacco and sour cherry notes. As the wine ages and its fine grained tannins soften a softer more savoury palate develops revealing wonderful drinkability and tertiary complexity.

2022 John X is a blend of traditional Bordeaux varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon 51%, Merlot 43%, Petit Verdot 5%, and Malbec
1%. As well as being one of the most convincing new world Bordeaux blends, it typifies the Rustenberg terroir.

This wine is named after a former owner of Rustenberg, John Xavier Merriman, who bought the farm in 1892 in sympathy with farmers suffering from the phylloxera crisis. He played a great role in revitalizing Rustenberg and in promoting the tourism and agricultural value of Ida’s Valley, the area close to the town of Stellenbosch in which Rustenberg is situated. The John X Merriman is Rustenberg's Estate wine, a blend of Bordeaux varietals that illustrate the ageability and true expression of Rustenberg's finest vineyards.

"A dark-fruited red blend that has notes of blueberries, black plums, violets and black tea. It’s full-bodied, youthful and fresh, with chalky tannins. Cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec and petit verdot. Try from 2025."
91 points. James Suckling, jamessuckling.com (August 2024)