The winery is located on the Simonsberg in the South African wine-growing district of Paarl. The history goes back to 1678, when the French Huguenot Charles Marais emigrated from the small village of Le Plessis Marly to the Cape region. In 1688, Governor Simon van der Stel (1639-1712) settled Huguenots in the Bergen River Valleys (part of the Drakenstein area). Among them was the Marais family. Charles Marais named his estate after his French birthplace, in the course of time it became "Plaisir de Merle". His grandson Pieter Marais earned the first merits in viticulture. After several changes of ownership, the winery finally became the property of the Stellenbosch Farmer's Winery (SFW) in 1964. Until 1993, however, it was only a supplier of grapes to the Nederburg wine estate, which also belonged to the SFW.
In the early 1990s, Plaisir de Merle embarked on a 25-year programme with the ambitious goal set by cellar master Niel Bester of becoming South Africa's leading winery within this period. To this end, a new cellar controlled by computer system has been opened. Paul Pontallier, the director of the famous Château Margaux, acts as consultant. The total estate covers 380 hectares on the south-eastern foothills of the Simonsberg between 250 and 450 metres above sea level. They are planted with the varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz. Only about a quarter of the best grapes, selected by hand, are used for the Plaisir de Merle label. The rest continues to go to Nederburg. The flagship of the house is a Bordeaux-style red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller portions of Merlot and Shiraz) that matures for 12 months in French barriques. Around 400,000 bottles of wine are produced annually.
