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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Tim Atkin MW (96)
"The hardest wine to make," says Andrea Mullineux of this Chenin Blanc from a nutrition-poor vineyard on the Kasteelbeg. But the effort is certainly worth it. Showing aromas of white flowers and gunflint, it has amazing focus, salinity and depth with linear acidity and notes of green apple, kitchen spices and umami.Inc. VAT£417.49 -
(1x75cl) 2022Inc. VAT£124.13 -
(1x75cl) 2023Wine Advocate (95)
The Mullineux 2023 Swartland Granite Chenin Blanc comes from one of three sites dedicated to this grape. Each is about 400 meters in elevation, and all three have bush vines that are harvested at the same ripeness. The major difference lies in the soils, with this vineyard on granite, sandy soils that allow the roots to reach down deep (as much as five meters underground). These vines have a bigger canopy as a result, and the fruit maintains the most natural acidity (and low pH). This wine is characterized by bright fruit flavors and a linear delivery with a salty, mineral-laced finish. It was the first of the three Chenin Blancs poured by Andrea Mullineux during our tasting.Inc. VAT£123.86 -
(6x75cl) 2023
Wine Advocate (95)
The Mullineux 2023 Swartland Granite Chenin Blanc comes from one of three sites dedicated to this grape. Each is about 400 meters in elevation, and all three have bush vines that are harvested at the same ripeness. The major difference lies in the soils, with this vineyard on granite, sandy soils that allow the roots to reach down deep (as much as five meters underground). These vines have a bigger canopy as a result, and the fruit maintains the most natural acidity (and low pH). This wine is characterized by bright fruit flavors and a linear delivery with a salty, mineral-laced finish. It was the first of the three Chenin Blancs poured by Andrea Mullineux during our tasting.Inc. VAT£407.15 -
Tim Atkin MW (95)
Generally shown first in a line-up of the Mullineux's three soil specific Syrahs, this is firm, dense and entirely whole bunch fermented with damson and blackberry fruit, sappy tannins, one-third new oak and notes of black tea, lavender and Mediterranean spices. Needs time. 2022-3Inc. VAT£491.98 -
Tim Atkin MW (96)
One of a trio of brilliant soil-based Syrahs from the Mullineux in 2018, Granite hails from a 30-year-old vineyard on the Paardeberg. Structured and grippy, it's a wine that will reward patience, with clove spice from 100% whole bunches, notes of blood orange and blackberry, fine oak and a tangy, refreshing finish.Inc. VAT£415.92 -
Tim Atkin MW (97)
We wine geeks love to discuss the relative merits of the three soil-specific Syrahs from the Mullineux. This is (just) my pick of the trio in 2019, sourced from a two-hectare block on the Jakalsfontein farm. Ginger and violet aromas segue into a palate of remarkable grip and persistence, with energetic acidity and a savoury, satisfying finish. 2022-29Inc. VAT£380.75 -
(1x75cl) 2020Vinous (93)
The 2020 Syrah Granite, which usually has a slightly lower pH, has a very attractive bouquet with red fruit, light terracotta, dried violet scents and just a hint of Earl Grey in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins, cohesive and with impressive weight, tightly-packed towards the finish with a pinch of white pepper and sage on the aftertaste. Give this two or three years in bottle.Inc. VAT£100.13 -
(12x75cl) 2021Tim Atkin MW (96)
Fermented with 100% whole clusters, like all of the site-specific Mullineux Syrah, this is the most intense, backward and well-structured of the trio. Serious, compact and concentrated, it's a red that wouldn't look out of place in Cornas, with violet aromas, damson and blackberry fruit, sturdy tannins and the freshness and focus of a cool vintage.Inc. VAT£1,213.27 -
(12x75cl) 2022Tim Atkin MW (96)
Granite uses grapes from two parcels on what is now Adi Badenhorst's Jakkalsfontein farm and is always a structured, dense, compact wine that handles its 100% whole bunches and 50% new wood lightly. Serious, dark and brooding, it has perfumed damson, wild herb and blackberry flavours and a savoury, sinewy finish.Inc. VAT£1,213.27 -
(1x75cl) 2022Tim Atkin MW (96)
Granite uses grapes from two parcels on what is now Adi Badenhorst's Jakkalsfontein farm and is always a structured, dense, compact wine that handles its 100% whole bunches and 50% new wood lightly. Serious, dark and brooding, it has perfumed damson, wild herb and blackberry flavours and a savoury, sinewy finish.Inc. VAT£123.72 -
(6x75cl) 2022Tim Atkin MW (96)
Granite uses grapes from two parcels on what is now Adi Badenhorst's Jakkalsfontein farm and is always a structured, dense, compact wine that handles its 100% whole bunches and 50% new wood lightly. Serious, dark and brooding, it has perfumed damson, wild herb and blackberry flavours and a savoury, sinewy finish.Inc. VAT£562.32 -
(6x75cl) 2023Wine Advocate (94)
The Mullineux 2023 Swartland Granite Syrah is perfumed and open, offering redcurrant, blackberry and lifted floral spice over a soft but broad tannin frame. Despite a rainy growing season, this Syrah leans toward a riper, more approachable expression while retaining aromatic purity. Planted in the late 1990s on granite and fermented with 100% whole-cluster fruit, the site’s deep soils and moderated canopy growth support both ripeness and freshness.Inc. VAT£562.32 -
(12x75cl) 2023Tim Atkin MW (97)
Up there with the best-ever bottlings of Iron Chenin Blanc, this hails from a very windy site on red clay soils that is usually picked before the other two terroir-specific Mullineux bottlings. Grippy, ferrous, salty and intense, it has lots of extract, a hint of tannin, notes of citrus, lanolin and gunflint and a pithy, mouth-watering finish.Inc. VAT£873.67 -
(1x75cl) 2023Tim Atkin MW (97)
Up there with the best-ever bottlings of Iron Chenin Blanc, this hails from a very windy site on red clay soils that is usually picked before the other two terroir-specific Mullineux bottlings. Grippy, ferrous, salty and intense, it has lots of extract, a hint of tannin, notes of citrus, lanolin and gunflint and a pithy, mouth-watering finish.Inc. VAT£123.59 -
(6x75cl) 2023Tim Atkin MW (97)
Up there with the best-ever bottlings of Iron Chenin Blanc, this hails from a very windy site on red clay soils that is usually picked before the other two terroir-specific Mullineux bottlings. Grippy, ferrous, salty and intense, it has lots of extract, a hint of tannin, notes of citrus, lanolin and gunflint and a pithy, mouth-watering finish.Inc. VAT£405.49 -
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Now that Porseleinberg has changed in style, the Mullineux's Iron Syrah can adopt the mantle of the Cornas taste alike of the Swartland. Tannic and intense, it's a wild, dense, blood and guts style wine with lots of whole bunch intensity and a ferrous finish.Inc. VAT£416.75 -
(12x75cl) 2019Tim Atkin MW (96)
Iron comes from the Malmesbury side of the Swartland and is the broadest, richest and most structured of the three Mullineux soil Syrahs, with lots of extract and concentration, bloody, meaty intensity, top notes of whole bunch spices and a hint of stony reduction.Inc. VAT£868.18 -
(6x75cl) 2019Tim Atkin MW (96)
Iron comes from the Malmesbury side of the Swartland and is the broadest, richest and most structured of the three Mullineux soil Syrahs, with lots of extract and concentration, bloody, meaty intensity, top notes of whole bunch spices and a hint of stony reduction.Inc. VAT£486.80 -
(1x75cl) 2020Vinous (91)
The 2020 Syrah Iron has a very focused bouquet, and yes, that ferrous element underlies what are quite precise black fruit scents, hints of bilberry and a light marine influence developing with time in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a sappy entry, maybe a little more reduced than either the Granite or Schist; the finish is more backward and broody at the moment. Just needs a little more charm to develop.Inc. VAT£100.13 -
(12x75cl) 2021
Tim Atkin MW (96)
I like to think of the Iron Syrah as the most ascetic of the Mullineux reds, a dense, backward, slightly ferrous number with lots of blood and guts. Inky, dense and grippy, it's a wonderfully brooding expression of the variety that will reward patience, allowing the damson and blackberry fruit to integrate fully with the tannins and 50% new wood.Inc. VAT£1,213.27 -
(12x75cl) 2022Tim Atkin MW (95)
Iron always reminds me of a Syrah from Cornas: firm, a little gruff in a sense, but not without personality, intensity or ageing potential. Sourced from a one-hectare block in Malmesbury, it’s a compact, focused wine with fynbos, black olive and damson aromas and flavours, some blood and raw meat and very well-integrated 50% new oak. Needs lots of time in bottle.Inc. VAT£1,213.27 -
(1x75cl) 2022Tim Atkin MW (95)
Iron always reminds me of a Syrah from Cornas: firm, a little gruff in a sense, but not without personality, intensity or ageing potential. Sourced from a one-hectare block in Malmesbury, it’s a compact, focused wine with fynbos, black olive and damson aromas and flavours, some blood and raw meat and very well-integrated 50% new oak. Needs lots of time in bottle.Inc. VAT£123.86 -
(6x75cl) 2022Tim Atkin MW (95)
Iron always reminds me of a Syrah from Cornas: firm, a little gruff in a sense, but not without personality, intensity or ageing potential. Sourced from a one-hectare block in Malmesbury, it’s a compact, focused wine with fynbos, black olive and damson aromas and flavours, some blood and raw meat and very well-integrated 50% new oak. Needs lots of time in bottle.Inc. VAT£563.15 -
(1x75cl) 2017Inc. VAT£107.33 -
Inc. VAT£492.80 -
(1x75cl) 2018Inc. VAT£114.53 -
Inc. VAT£95.33 -
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.Inc. VAT£104.93 -
(6x75cl) 2019Tim Atkin MW (95)
Chenin Blanc is the marquee variety here, with support from 26% Clairette Blanche, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Semillon Gris, Viura and Verdelho, most of which is sourced from 37 to 70-year-old vines. Lemon, lime and wet stone flavours with some phenolic grip and remarkable palate length.Inc. VAT£309.95
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Tim Atkin MW (96)
"The hardest wine to make," says Andrea Mullineux of this Chenin Blanc from a nutrition-poor vineyard on the Kasteelbeg. But the effort is certainly worth it. Showing aromas of white flowers and gunflint, it has amazing focus, salinity and depth with linear acidity and notes of green apple, kitchen spices and umami.In Bond£330.00 -
(1x75cl) 2022In Bond£100.00
-
(1x75cl) 2023
Wine Advocate (95)
The Mullineux 2023 Swartland Granite Chenin Blanc comes from one of three sites dedicated to this grape. Each is about 400 meters in elevation, and all three have bush vines that are harvested at the same ripeness. The major difference lies in the soils, with this vineyard on granite, sandy soils that allow the roots to reach down deep (as much as five meters underground). These vines have a bigger canopy as a result, and the fruit maintains the most natural acidity (and low pH). This wine is characterized by bright fruit flavors and a linear delivery with a salty, mineral-laced finish. It was the first of the three Chenin Blancs poured by Andrea Mullineux during our tasting.In Bond£100.00 -
(6x75cl) 2023
Wine Advocate (95)
The Mullineux 2023 Swartland Granite Chenin Blanc comes from one of three sites dedicated to this grape. Each is about 400 meters in elevation, and all three have bush vines that are harvested at the same ripeness. The major difference lies in the soils, with this vineyard on granite, sandy soils that allow the roots to reach down deep (as much as five meters underground). These vines have a bigger canopy as a result, and the fruit maintains the most natural acidity (and low pH). This wine is characterized by bright fruit flavors and a linear delivery with a salty, mineral-laced finish. It was the first of the three Chenin Blancs poured by Andrea Mullineux during our tasting.In Bond£320.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (95)
Generally shown first in a line-up of the Mullineux's three soil specific Syrahs, this is firm, dense and entirely whole bunch fermented with damson and blackberry fruit, sappy tannins, one-third new oak and notes of black tea, lavender and Mediterranean spices. Needs time. 2022-3In Bond£390.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (96)
One of a trio of brilliant soil-based Syrahs from the Mullineux in 2018, Granite hails from a 30-year-old vineyard on the Paardeberg. Structured and grippy, it's a wine that will reward patience, with clove spice from 100% whole bunches, notes of blood orange and blackberry, fine oak and a tangy, refreshing finish.In Bond£328.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (97)
We wine geeks love to discuss the relative merits of the three soil-specific Syrahs from the Mullineux. This is (just) my pick of the trio in 2019, sourced from a two-hectare block on the Jakalsfontein farm. Ginger and violet aromas segue into a palate of remarkable grip and persistence, with energetic acidity and a savoury, satisfying finish. 2022-29In Bond£298.00 -
(1x75cl) 2020
Vinous (93)
The 2020 Syrah Granite, which usually has a slightly lower pH, has a very attractive bouquet with red fruit, light terracotta, dried violet scents and just a hint of Earl Grey in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannins, cohesive and with impressive weight, tightly-packed towards the finish with a pinch of white pepper and sage on the aftertaste. Give this two or three years in bottle.In Bond£80.00 -
(12x75cl) 2021
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Fermented with 100% whole clusters, like all of the site-specific Mullineux Syrah, this is the most intense, backward and well-structured of the trio. Serious, compact and concentrated, it's a red that wouldn't look out of place in Cornas, with violet aromas, damson and blackberry fruit, sturdy tannins and the freshness and focus of a cool vintage.In Bond£979.00 -
(12x75cl) 2022
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Granite uses grapes from two parcels on what is now Adi Badenhorst's Jakkalsfontein farm and is always a structured, dense, compact wine that handles its 100% whole bunches and 50% new wood lightly. Serious, dark and brooding, it has perfumed damson, wild herb and blackberry flavours and a savoury, sinewy finish.In Bond£979.00 -
(1x75cl) 2022
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Granite uses grapes from two parcels on what is now Adi Badenhorst's Jakkalsfontein farm and is always a structured, dense, compact wine that handles its 100% whole bunches and 50% new wood lightly. Serious, dark and brooding, it has perfumed damson, wild herb and blackberry flavours and a savoury, sinewy finish.In Bond£100.00 -
(6x75cl) 2022
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Granite uses grapes from two parcels on what is now Adi Badenhorst's Jakkalsfontein farm and is always a structured, dense, compact wine that handles its 100% whole bunches and 50% new wood lightly. Serious, dark and brooding, it has perfumed damson, wild herb and blackberry flavours and a savoury, sinewy finish.In Bond£450.00 -
(6x75cl) 2023
Wine Advocate (94)
The Mullineux 2023 Swartland Granite Syrah is perfumed and open, offering redcurrant, blackberry and lifted floral spice over a soft but broad tannin frame. Despite a rainy growing season, this Syrah leans toward a riper, more approachable expression while retaining aromatic purity. Planted in the late 1990s on granite and fermented with 100% whole-cluster fruit, the site’s deep soils and moderated canopy growth support both ripeness and freshness.In Bond£450.00 -
(12x75cl) 2023
Tim Atkin MW (97)
Up there with the best-ever bottlings of Iron Chenin Blanc, this hails from a very windy site on red clay soils that is usually picked before the other two terroir-specific Mullineux bottlings. Grippy, ferrous, salty and intense, it has lots of extract, a hint of tannin, notes of citrus, lanolin and gunflint and a pithy, mouth-watering finish.In Bond£696.00 -
(1x75cl) 2023
Tim Atkin MW (97)
Up there with the best-ever bottlings of Iron Chenin Blanc, this hails from a very windy site on red clay soils that is usually picked before the other two terroir-specific Mullineux bottlings. Grippy, ferrous, salty and intense, it has lots of extract, a hint of tannin, notes of citrus, lanolin and gunflint and a pithy, mouth-watering finish.In Bond£100.00 -
(6x75cl) 2023
Tim Atkin MW (97)
Up there with the best-ever bottlings of Iron Chenin Blanc, this hails from a very windy site on red clay soils that is usually picked before the other two terroir-specific Mullineux bottlings. Grippy, ferrous, salty and intense, it has lots of extract, a hint of tannin, notes of citrus, lanolin and gunflint and a pithy, mouth-watering finish.In Bond£320.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Now that Porseleinberg has changed in style, the Mullineux's Iron Syrah can adopt the mantle of the Cornas taste alike of the Swartland. Tannic and intense, it's a wild, dense, blood and guts style wine with lots of whole bunch intensity and a ferrous finish.In Bond£328.00 -
(12x75cl) 2019
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Iron comes from the Malmesbury side of the Swartland and is the broadest, richest and most structured of the three Mullineux soil Syrahs, with lots of extract and concentration, bloody, meaty intensity, top notes of whole bunch spices and a hint of stony reduction.In Bond£685.00 -
(6x75cl) 2019
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Iron comes from the Malmesbury side of the Swartland and is the broadest, richest and most structured of the three Mullineux soil Syrahs, with lots of extract and concentration, bloody, meaty intensity, top notes of whole bunch spices and a hint of stony reduction.In Bond£385.00 -
(1x75cl) 2020
Vinous (91)
The 2020 Syrah Iron has a very focused bouquet, and yes, that ferrous element underlies what are quite precise black fruit scents, hints of bilberry and a light marine influence developing with time in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a sappy entry, maybe a little more reduced than either the Granite or Schist; the finish is more backward and broody at the moment. Just needs a little more charm to develop.In Bond£80.00 -
(12x75cl) 2021
Tim Atkin MW (96)
I like to think of the Iron Syrah as the most ascetic of the Mullineux reds, a dense, backward, slightly ferrous number with lots of blood and guts. Inky, dense and grippy, it's a wonderfully brooding expression of the variety that will reward patience, allowing the damson and blackberry fruit to integrate fully with the tannins and 50% new wood.In Bond£979.00 -
(12x75cl) 2022
Tim Atkin MW (95)
Iron always reminds me of a Syrah from Cornas: firm, a little gruff in a sense, but not without personality, intensity or ageing potential. Sourced from a one-hectare block in Malmesbury, it’s a compact, focused wine with fynbos, black olive and damson aromas and flavours, some blood and raw meat and very well-integrated 50% new oak. Needs lots of time in bottle.In Bond£979.00 -
(1x75cl) 2022
Tim Atkin MW (95)
Iron always reminds me of a Syrah from Cornas: firm, a little gruff in a sense, but not without personality, intensity or ageing potential. Sourced from a one-hectare block in Malmesbury, it’s a compact, focused wine with fynbos, black olive and damson aromas and flavours, some blood and raw meat and very well-integrated 50% new oak. Needs lots of time in bottle.In Bond£100.00 -
(6x75cl) 2022
Tim Atkin MW (95)
Iron always reminds me of a Syrah from Cornas: firm, a little gruff in a sense, but not without personality, intensity or ageing potential. Sourced from a one-hectare block in Malmesbury, it’s a compact, focused wine with fynbos, black olive and damson aromas and flavours, some blood and raw meat and very well-integrated 50% new oak. Needs lots of time in bottle.In Bond£450.00 -
(1x75cl) 2017In Bond£86.00
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In Bond£390.00
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(1x75cl) 2018In Bond£92.00
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In Bond£76.00
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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.In Bond£84.00 -
(6x75cl) 2019
Tim Atkin MW (95)
Chenin Blanc is the marquee variety here, with support from 26% Clairette Blanche, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Semillon Gris, Viura and Verdelho, most of which is sourced from 37 to 70-year-old vines. Lemon, lime and wet stone flavours with some phenolic grip and remarkable palate length.In Bond£239.00
