Mullineux Straw Wine 2012 (375ml)

Mullineux Straw Wine 2012  is made from 100% air-dried Chenin blanc

Review:

The 2012 Straw Wine was harvested at usual ripeness and air-dried over three weeks before aging in old French barriques for 11 months. It has a lovely iridescent amber hue. The nose is less flamboyant than recent vintages, more strict with clear honey, mandarin, quince and marmalade. The palate is unctuous on the entry with marmalade, honey, Clementine, hints of toffee and papaya. It is very well-balanced with the acidity to maintain freshness and poise. This is another superb straw wine from Chris and Andrea, though perhaps the 2011 is endowed with a soupcon more tension? Drink now-2030+ Wine Advocate #209 Oct 2013 92 Points

"The secret to Straw Wine is harvesting grapes at normal ripeness levels to capture a healthy acidity, which is concentrated along with the intense Chenin blanc flavors, and sugar into a super intense, but balanced treat."

Source of Grapes: Grapes for our 2012 Straw Wine were sourced from one parcel of 33 year-old Chenin blanc planted in the stony Shale and Schist based soils of Riebeek Kasteel Mountain, and one parcel of 40+ year-old dry land, bush vine Chenin blanc grown in the decomposed Granite of the Paardeberg mountain. These are our parcels that give us the best acidity at harvest.

Yields: Harvested: 5 tons/ha = 30 HL/ha. Final yields after drying: 100L/ton = 6HL/ha

Winemaking: Grapes are harvested at normal ripeness level of 23° Brix. They are left to dry outdoors on racks and wires for roughly 3 weeks. This process allows moisture to evaporate from the berries, concentrating sugars, acids and flavor.

When the Mullineux Straw Wine 2012 grapes have shriveled half way to becoming raisins and the sugar has increased to about 52° Brix, they are brought to the cellar where they are crushed and pressed whole bunch, and racked straight to old 225L barrels. A small amount of sulphur (30ppm) is added to inhibit bacteria but allow the natural yeast to ferment. Fermentation takes roughly 6 months, and stops naturally when the yeast cannot ferment any further. Once fermentation is complete we treat the 6 barrels differently. Some barrels are not topped, but allowed to oxidize slowly, to build complexity. Some barrels are topped every few months, but left without sulphur, and the remaining barrels are dosed with sulphur and are topped every couple of months to maintain their purity and fruit. After 12 months all the barrels are racked and blended, and the wine is bottled unfiltered and unfined.

Maturation: 12 months in old (5th fill) 225L French oak barrels
Tasting Note: Deep golden straw in color, with a rich, viscous appearance. The nose is a complex, enticing blend of dried peaches, apricots and marmalade, with savory, nutty aromas of almonds, marzipan and honey. The intense, dizzying mouthfeel is balanced by a clean, fresh and very long finish of dried apricots. The wine is best served chilled at 9 to 11 C.

The Mullineux Family Winery Estate
This is a small, highly focused family winery producing a select family of hand-crafted wines from the granite and shale based terroirs of the Swartland Region of South Africa.

Chris was born in Cape Town, raised in Johannesburg, and introduced to the world of wine while studying accountancy at the University of Stellenbosch. After braving his way through accounting, he enrolled into winemaking for a second degree, and on graduating took a position starting up a boutique organic winery in Tulbagh, where he was in charge of the vineyards and cellar for 5 very enjoyable years. In addition to stints at de Trafford and Rustenberg wineries in South Africa, Chris has also worked harvests at top wineries in Cote Rotie, Bandol, the Languedoc, Roussillon, and California. Over the years Chris has had good exposure to the people, vineyards and wines of the Swartland. This has lead to a growing love for, and firm belief in the region, and he looks forward to many creative and hard working vintages in this region with his family.
Andrea developed her passion for wine at the family dinner table, growing up in San Francisco. After studying Viticulture and Oenology at UC Davis and completing a handful of harvests in the Napa Valley, Andrea decided to broaden her winemaking knowledge overseas. After a harvest in Stellenbosch, she went on to work in Chateauneuf and, on the same trip, met Chris at a wine festival in Champagne! Andrea's love for South African wine (and Chris) brought her back to South Africa where they learnt that their compatibility extended into the vineyards and cellar. When Andrea is not hard at work in the cellar, her creative energies flow into the kitchen where she loves cooking up a storm, glass of wine in hand.

The Mullineux Family Winery Vineyards
Very low summer rainfall coupled with afternoon and evening breezes off the Atlantic Ocean result in low disease pressure. Vineyards are often planted in amongst the natural rhenoster veldt and fynbos, which provide refuge for predators of vineyard pests, and help reduce the spread of disease. Weeds struggle to establish themselves and spread, making it easier to control them without the need of herbicides.
Chris and Andrea have put together a group vineyards in the most interesting parts of the Swartland, which are mostly found around the shale and schist based Riebeek Kasteel Mountain, and the granite based Paardeberg mountain.
Lammershoek - The deep white, granitic soils on Lammershoek produce wines that are exceptionally pure, with a granitic perfume that shines through in red and white varieties.
Kasteelsig - The soils, found on the rolling hills north of Malmesbury, are a deep combination of red gravel and iron, and produce dark, concentrated wines that are the flesh of our blends.
Kloovenburg - The highly varied row directions and aspects bring much complexity to wines, and the high shale content of the soils gives serious structure, and brings an earthy spicy character to syrah planted in them.
Mountain View - The soils are shale based, which drain easily, reducing vigor and providing grapes of perfume, freshness and structure.

The vineyards are planted with grape varieties (which are mostly Mediterranean in origin) that are ideally suited to the environment, and are farmed sustainably and in harmony with their surroundings: Syrah, Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Viognier.