Vergelegen Semillon Straw Wine

£14.49

£19.32 per litre · incl. 20% VAT

In Stock

A rare straw wine from one of the Cape's most historic estates, made by drying Semillon grapes until they're packed with sweetness. Honeyed apricot, candied citrus peel and a lift of tropical fruit, balanced by gentle acidity. Pour it chilled at the end of a long dinner, it's the kind of bottle that turns dessert into an event.

Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.

Region

Western Cape, South Africa

Grape

Semillon, Chenin Blanc

Oak

The fermenting sweet juice was transferred to old barrels for completion of alcoholic fermentation. The wine spent 15 months in old oak

UK wide delivery

Expert curated

Sourced direct

Our Verdict

We listed this because straw wines this characterful are vanishingly rare on UK shelves, and because Vergelegen, with its three centuries of history and its Atlantic-cooled vineyards, has the pedigree to do the style justice. There's a freshness running through it that lifts the sweetness rather than letting it sit heavy, which is exactly what separates great dessert wine from the merely sticky. Stock is limited, as it always is with wines like this. Perfect for the curious drinker who's worked through Sauternes and Tokaji and wants to see what the Cape can do with the same idea.

Tasting Notes

A glass of liquid sunshine. The nose leads with dried apricot, candied orange peel and quince paste, lifted by honeyed beeswax and a whisper of vanilla from old oak. The palate is luscious without being cloying, concentrated tropical fruit, ripe mango and preserved peach carried by a vibrant seam of acidity that keeps everything in focus. Fifteen months in old barrel adds a nutty, almost marmalade depth. The finish is long, gently spiced and lingers like warm honey on toast.

Dried Apricot & Quince

Concentrated stone fruit at its richest, sun-dried apricot, candied quince and preserved peach, the hallmark of grapes raisined before fermentation.

Honeyed Beeswax

Classic aged Semillon character, golden honey, beeswax and a touch of orange marmalade that builds layer upon layer of sweetness.

Ripe Tropical Fruit

Mango, pineapple and passion fruit ride alongside the dried fruit notes, keeping the wine bright, lifted and unmistakably from the Cape.

Soft Vanilla Spice

Fifteen months in old oak adds a gentle vanilla warmth and a nutty undertone without ever overshadowing the fruit.

About This Wine

Straw wine is one of the oldest tricks in the winemaking book, and one of the most rewarding. The grapes are dried before pressing, either on the vines themselves or laid out on wooden pallets, until the sugars concentrate and the juice turns syrupy and golden. Vergelegen does it properly, and the result is a sweet wine that tastes like sunshine in a glass.

The nose pulls you in immediately: dried apricot, honey on warm toast, candied orange peel, a whisper of beeswax. On the palate it's lush but never cloying, ripe tropical fruit, marmalade, a touch of fig, all held together by the bright acidity that Semillon does so well. Fifteen months in old oak barrels rounds the edges without ever showing as oak; the wine is the star.

Vergelegen has been making wine in Somerset West since 1700, with vineyards cooled by Atlantic breezes from False Bay just six kilometres away. That cool maritime influence is what gives this wine its precision, it stays fresh and lifted even at its sweetest.

Serve it well-chilled in small glasses with a wedge of blue cheese, a tarte tatin, or a simple slice of crème caramel. It's brilliant with foie gras if you're going classical, and a revelation alongside a sticky toffee pudding. We deliver across the UK, and this is exactly the kind of bottle that makes a thoughtful gift for someone who already has every wine they need.

Food Pairing

This is a dessert wine that earns its keep. Brilliant with a wedge of mature blue, Stilton or a punchy Roquefort, where the salt meets the honey head-on. Equally lovely with classic British puddings: sticky toffee, treacle tart or a properly browned crème brûlée. For something simpler, pour it alongside a board of dried apricots, walnuts and aged Comté after dinner.

—Stilton or Roquefort with oatcakes and quince paste
—Sticky toffee pudding with vanilla cream
—Crème brûlée or tarte Tatin
—Foie gras on toasted brioche
—A board of dried apricots, walnuts and aged Comté

How to Serve

Temperature

Lightly chilled, not cold. Twenty minutes in an ice bucket, or an hour in the fridge before serving.

Decanting

No need to decant, but don't rush it. Pour into the glass and let it sit for ten minutes, the honeyed aromatics unfurl as the temperature rises and the wine opens up.

Glass

A smaller dessert wine glass or a tulip-shaped white wine glass concentrates the lifted aromatics.

Cellaring

Stores beautifully on its side in a cool, dark cellar at 12–14°C. The high sugar and acidity make this remarkably resilient, give it years.

Ageing & Cellaring

Drinking beautifully now but built for the long haul. Straw wines of this calibre evolve gracefully for fifteen to twenty years, with the bright tropical fruit slowly giving way to deeper notes of toffee, dried fig, roasted nuts and orange marmalade. Cellar a bottle and reward yourself in a decade.

The Land

The vineyards climb between 140 and 310 metres above sea level, with slopes facing north to north-west and south to south-east, a patchwork of aspects that lets the winemakers match each variety to its ideal site. The fruit for this wine comes from the Korhaan and Niel-Suid blocks, parcels chosen for their concentration and balance.

The Winemaking

Straw wine begins long before the cellar, bunches are left to dry, either on the vine or laid out on wooden pallets, concentrating sugars and flavours until the fruit is almost raisined. Once ready, the grapes ferment on their skins in open bins, gently breaking down the cell tissue and coaxing out every last drop of intense, honeyed juice. Fermentation finishes in old oak barrels, where the wine then rests for fifteen months, old oak chosen deliberately, lending texture and shape without ever crowding the fruit.

The Western Cape Region

Le Domaine draws its fruit from vineyards scattered across the Western Cape, from coastal sites cooled by Atlantic breezes to warmer inland slopes, all planted between 50 and 300 metres above sea level. This broad sourcing is deliberate. By blending components from different microclimates, the cellar builds a consistent house style that balances the crisp acidity of cooler sites with the ripe generosity of warmer ones. It's the Western Cape's extraordinary diversity captured in a single glass.

About the Producer

Vergelegen

Vergelegen has been making wine since 1700, founded by Cape governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel and now standing as the third-oldest winemaking estate in the country. Anglo American took stewardship in 1987 and committed to the kind of long-horizon thinking the place deserves, restoring 2,240 hectares of native fynbos across the 3,000-hectare estate and earning South Africa's first BWI 'Champion' status for its conservation work. The winery itself is built into a hilltop, an octagonal structure echoing the walled garden van der Stel laid out three centuries ago. Today Luke O'Cuinneagain leads the cellar, bringing experience from Bordeaux, California and Stellenbosch, and a quiet philosophy of minimal intervention and patient stewardship.

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