South Africa
At the bottom of its great continent, South Africa is a country of unlimited natural advantages. With the confluence of two oceans at the Cape, the sheltering effect of inland mountain chains and some of the most dynamic soils in the world, every piece is in place for the production of fine wine. The most well-known region has historically been Stellenbosch, but it is the wines of Swartland that have really turned South African wine on its head in recent years.
The wine industry is in the midst of a renaissance with classically styled wines making full advantage of remarkable terroir and an adventurous spirit. As a result, South Africa is producing some truly exceptional wines of great character and value. Striking blockbuster Syrahs and Bordeaux blends to full bodied Chardonnay and crisp Sauvignon Blanc are some of this great nation’s offerings. South Africa’s own grape, Pinotage, leaves critics divided yet can produce excellent single-variety offerings as well as distinguished Cape blends.
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South Africa
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Coastal Region | 2 | - | $521.00 | |||||
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Coastal Region | 1 | 96 (TA) | $454.00 | |||||
Tim Atkin MW (96)Basson is probably the oldest red wine vineyard in the Cape, planted back in 1900 and resurrected by Chris and Andrea Mullineux and Rosa Kruger. There are only 1,000 bottles from the 0.8 hectares, alas, but what wine this is: complex, long and refined with palate-caressing sweetness and layered, fine-boned tannins. The Musigny of the Cinsault world. |
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Coastal Region | 1 | - | $102.00 | |||||
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Coastal Region | 1 | 95 (WA) | $113.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (95)The Leeu Passant 2022 Wellington Cinsault comes from a 0.8-hectare vineyard on decomposed granite soils. Cinsault was the hero grape in South Africa with an important winemaking tradition. These ancient vines were planted at the very start of the 1900s. It took Andrea Mullineux years to get this unruly vineyard in shape. There are as many as 30 or 40 different rootstocks, so much so that Entav (the French national repository of grapevine clones) came to take samples. "We wanted to find the oldest vineyard in South Africa," she says. This wine is not made under the family Mullineux brand (dedicated to Swartland wines) because these grapes are from Wellington. It shows a delicately perfumed quality that is neither reductive nor carbonic but is spicy and vertical nonetheless. The bouquet opens to wild rose, crème de cassis, cranberry and blue flower. It ages in 500-liter barrel for two years. This is a very special expression and one of the best Cinsaults you will encounter in your world wine travels. This grape, made by these deft hands, is reason enough to fall in love with South African wine. |
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Coastal Region | 1 | 95 (GS) | $243.00 | |||||
Greg Sherwood MW (95)Bottled after 12 months, this is a very, very pretty vintage with lower yields but also beautiful fruit purity, precision and a wonderful fruit – acid balance. The aromatics are ripe, succulent and opulent showing honeysuckle, white blossom, lemon cordial, dried herbs and lovely white peach and pineapple pastille notes. Nevertheless, the stand out feature on the palate is undoubtedly the textural sophistication, harmony and chalky minerality combined with super tangy acids bursting with lemon rock candy, white peach and crystalline citrus flavours. Simply an incredible intensity with a harmoniously weightless balance combined with a long, piercing finish. This is definitely a noticeable step up on previous vintages and an incredible achievement for the Mullineuxs! Drink now to 2034+. |
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Coastal Region | 1 | 93 (WA) | $214.00 | |||||
Wine Advocate (93)This is a blend of old-vine Chenin Blanc, Clairette Blanche, Grenache Blanc, Viognier and Semillon Gris. The Mullineux 2023 Swartland Old Vines White gives you a taste of South African winemaking excellence at a very interesting price. The vines are planted on granite soils with a beautiful layer of clay five meters down "that acts like a sponge," Andrea Mullineax tells me. This helps to concentrate and enrich flavors of preserved lemon, saffron and pastry cream filling. With each variety coming to ripeness at a different time, the grapes are whole-bunch pressed and not co-fermented. The Chenin Blanc, from dry-land bush vines, plays an important role in determining the lasting texture of the wine. It matures in foudre and some barrique, with 10% new oak. |
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Coastal Region | 1 | 97 (VN (NM)) | $174.00 | |||||
Vinous - Neal Martin (97)The 2015 Syrah Schist has a wonderful, nuanced, complex bouquet that I would happily place in any lineup of top Syrahs from the Rhône. So nuanced, so mineral and delineated, this just blossoms in the glass. The palate is beautifully balanced with fine tannins, judiciously spiced with white pepper and sage. Highly complex, terroir-driven and delicious, this is a Syrah that delivers on all fronts at 10 years of age. It easily surpasses the bottle drunk just after bottling. World. Class. Syrah. Tasted blind at the 10-Year-On horizontal in London. |
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Coastal Region | 4 | 95 (TA) | $521.00 | |||||
Tim Atkin MW (95)The Schist Syrah is sourced from the extensive Roundstone property and, like its stablemates Granite and Iron, is fermented with whole bunches and aged in one third-new oak. Rich, savoury and concentrated, but with considerable underlying finesse, rose petal notes and refreshing, palate-cleansing acidity. 2021-30 |
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Coastal Region | 1 | 97 (TA) | $501.00 | |||||
Tim Atkin MW (97)My pick of the three top Mullineux Syrahs in 2018, this world-class red is the most perfumed and alluring of the trio right now. Combining fruit from the Kasteelberg and Roundstone, this has violet and lavender aromas, some sap and grip from 100% whole bunches, incredible focus and grip and a plush, seductive mid palate. |
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Coastal Region | 1 | 97 (TA) | $125.00 | |||||
Tim Atkin MW (97)The Mullineux use two vineyards to make this world-class straw wine, which "have botrytis and lots of malic acid". Dried on shade cloth, rather than straw, it's incredibly sweet at 305 grams of sugar, with exotic nectarine and guava flavours, hints of toast and coconut, a volatile lift and wonderful freshness and length. |
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Coastal Region | 1 | 93 (TA) | $154.00 | |||||
Tim Atkin MW (93)One of my "go to" wines when I see it on a restaurant wine list, this intensely perfumed Syrah comes from seven vineyards, mostly on schist soils. Made with 90% whole bunches, it has more tannin than you think at first, layers of spice, violet and blackberry fruit and a refreshing tang. |
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