Description
Mullineux, Swartland Syrah
Right on the heels of our “Tuscan Twofer” offering, we’re now looking much further afield to the Rainbow Nation, where we’ve selected two exceptional wines that epitomize the region’s hotbed of elite contemporary talent. The first is an estate and cuvée you’re likely familiar with because (1) it’s been heavily decorated with Winery of the Year awards and (2) this pure and lush Syrah frequents our site at every opportunity!
One would assume a Syrah of this magnitude and fanfare would belong to a hallowed, generations-deep producer in the Northern Rhône. Normally, you’d be right, but one must travel thousands of miles south to arrive at today’s estate. Down in South Africa, Mullineux has taken the world by storm with their pure, layered, terroir-focused expressions of Syrah. In 15 years’ time, they’ve risen through the ranks and amassed critical acclaim that has elevated Swartland’s exciting wine frontier to an unprecedented level. And with this 2017—a vintage that towers over previous releases in terms of polish, depth, perfume, and concentration—Mullineux has raised the bar yet again. Translation: This is outrageously good! Up to 12 bottles per person.
Mullineux has been on my radar for many years now. In 2011, I deviated from my traveling wine group in South Africa and began a week of solo exploration: I drove a second-rate stick shift bakkie (driving on the right side of the car, I might add) away from Cape Town and into the hillsides of Swartland where I stumbled upon the town of Riebeek-Kasteel and, subsequently, Mullineaux. At the time, this was only their fourth year of operation, but I was stunned by the high quality of their small-batch wines. Across the board, the region’s dramatic transformation from bulk wine to serious, terroir-driven, handcrafted gems has put famous critics and wine writers in an excited state of shock.
Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines came into existence in 2007 and has been operated by a husband-wife team, Chris and Andrea Mullineux, since day one. They were both trained in wine—Chris, at the University of Stellenbosch and Andrea at UC Davis—and after several years of separate wine travels across the world, they met each other in Champagne. They eventually tied the knot and their joint passions pushed them to open a small winery in South Africa (Chris’ home country). They chose Swartland due to its unique soils and elevated vineyards; for them, it just “felt right.” As for the future, it’s bright and mutual between Chris and Andrea: “Our goal is to keep grounded and happy and to slowly learn…so we consistently bottle balanced wines with a sense of place.”
Their decades-old, bush-vine Syrah is sourced from seven small vineyard sites around Swartland in soils ranging from schist, granite, shale, and iron-rich deposits. All grapes were picked by hand—keeping each parcel separate—and quickly shuttled to their nearby winery in Riebeek-Kasteel, where a whole-cluster, native-yeast fermentation took place. A twice-daily punch-down regimen was employed throughout an extended maceration before being transferred into parcel-designated French oak barrels, 15% new, of various sizes. After briefly aging, the parcels were blended together and sent back into barrel for a total time of 14 months. The final wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered.
If you’ve had past vintages of Mullineux Syrah, prepare yourself for an entirely new experience: This is the most hedonistic and lush of the bunch, yet it doesn’t forgo the wonderful lift, perfume, and vibrancy that put them on the map. The wine spills into a Bordeaux stem with an opaque purple-black hue and immediately fires back high-toned, intoxicating aromas of candied violet, black raspberry liqueur, black cherry skin, Damson plum, huckleberry, bacon fat, clove, garrigue, green olive, crushed stems, and baked clay. The palate is full-bodied and generously silky with lifted acidity and zero edges to its tannic structure, a combination that allows the plush core of dark fruit to slowly melt into the finish. It’s a beautiful Syrah right now, but I think it will age effortlessly for the next 7-10 years. Once it starts taking on those savory tertiary flavors, look out—it just may give Hermitage a run for its money!
