Tasting a South African Unicorn Wine for Christmas – Reviewing the Maiden Release Sadie Family Wines Mrs Kirsten 2006 Old Vine Series Chenin Blanc…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Few white wines produced in South Africa evoke as much emotion and mystery as the Sadie Family Wines maiden release Old Vine Series Mrs Kirsten 2006 Chenin Blanc, made from the oldest surviving Chenin Blanc vineyard still in the ground in South Africa, located in the Jonkershoek Valley in Stellenbosch.

The story of how this very special Sadie wine joined the range is best explained by the man himself, Eben Sadie…

”One day I was visiting a friend of mine in Stellenbosch, Carlo Suter, who is a farmer, oenologist and cabinet maker. And also someone practising bio – dynamic viticulture. During the visit we went for a walk on the property and we walked past this block of very old and very neglected Chenin Blanc. On asking him about the parcel of vines , he told us that it belonged to a Mrs. Kirsten, aged about 85 and that she was not farming the vines anymore.”

Eben Sadie overseeing his new cellar construction.

“The reality was a lot of very obvious potential in the parcel, for one, the very fact that the block was older than Mrs. Kirsten… and secondly, it having been planted on a very special site. Then the idea came to mind to approach her and ask if we may lease the vineyard and take care of it. From there onwards, we have been taking very special care of this vineyard, firstly by pruning out all the dead arms of the vines (years of them), and secondly by ploughing the soils and converting the vineyard back to organic farming.”

A modern vintage of the Mev. Kirsten Chenin Blanc (Afrikaans for Mrs Kirsten)

“Since 2006 we have been producing about 300 bottles annually out of one hectare of vines, which relates back to a very uneconomical 3 hl/ha yield, but the concept of such a project is rather to finance a vineyard in a world driven by profitability and return. It is a vineyard that has given more to us than numbers and has resulted in the production of a uniquely different and individual wine.”

Vinification involves the sorting of each individual berry for the entire production in small “strawberry” cases. The grapes are de-stemmed and fermented on their skins for about two days at low temperatures and then pressed in an old basket press and the juice run off directly into barrel without settling. Natural fermentation continues in tight grained French oak, the oldest barrel at any stage in the cellar being at least 10 years of age, insuring they impart zero oak influence to the taste.

The aging takes place for 12 months on the lees and then the wine was racked. An additional six months of aging on the fine lees took place afterwards. Total time spent in oak was 18 months. Total production for 2006 was a meagre 283 bottles.

Sadie Family Wines Mrs Kirsten Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2006, 13.65% Abv.

1.8g/l RS | 6.2g/l TA | 3.45pH

A beautifully rich old gold, old honey Sauternes-style copper / bronze colour. A slight disconnect between colour and taste, this bottle is in perfect condition with the aromatics tightly concertina’ed, slowly unwinding to reveal aromatics of apricot compote, nutty yellow orchard fruits, nectarine, salted toffee, crystallised ginger, caramelised fig and savoury notes of damp leaves and wet moss. You get a sense that this wine has a lot to offer, with a slow reveal in play. The palate is intricately spicy and pithy with layers of peach stone fruits, quince and savoury notes of mealy warm peach crumble with hints of vanilla pod spice. A beautifully textured wine with fine grained, phenolic, spicy tannins and a cool, pithy, spicy ginger infused yellow fruited length with an enticing salinity on the finish. A fascinating expression of Chenin Blanc and undoubtedly an iconic unicorn wine of note!

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Exploring Bordeaux Second Wines – Part 14: Chateau Haut Breton Larigaudiere Le Trianon de Larigaudiere 2020 Margaux…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Le Trianon de Larigaudiere is the second wine of Chateau Haut Breton Larigaudiere and is produced from the youngest vines in the vineyard around the Chateau in the Margaux appellation. The Chateau’s wines are produced by Jean Michel Garcion, one of the of the most respected winemakers on the left bank, who’s also a massive admirer of Cabernet Sauvignon. As a result, this younger vine wine is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon but also a generous 40% Merlot, which lends the cuvee great softness, fleshiness and opulence in the mouth.

Following a cold pre-fermentation maceration, the juice is kept on the skins for between 15 and 30 days in concrete and stainless-steel vats of varying sizes, for fine-tuned, plot-by-plot fermentation. Each decision is based on the specific vintage and the resulting grape quality. After fermentation, the wines are aged 12 to 15 months in French and American oak barrels, including 25% new barrels, 60% first fill and 15% in second fill oak barriques.

The Chateau Haut Breton Larigaudiere has recently undergone a sizable facelift making the tasting room a worthwhile stop when traveling down the D2 through Margaux.

Chateau Haut Breton Larigaudiere Le Trianon de Larigaudiere 2020, Margaux, 12.5% Abv.

A broody opaque dark red black plum colour in the glass, the 2020 Trianon boast classical Bordeaux aromatics of violets, earthy black currants, macerated black plums, red cherries, wet tobacco and raspberry herbal tea nuances that melt into subtle wood spice and vanilla pod notes. The palate is beautifully sleek and harmonious with satin soft tannins and tart sour black cherry acids that are invigorating and mouthwatering. Not only is the texture beautifully elegant, accessible and soft but the wine retains the signature Margaux’esque majesty and finesse that makes the wines of this appellation so seductive, young or old. In true second wine style, this 2020 is delicious and ready to go now but will offer incremental drinking pleasure for a good 5 to 8+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 90+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Available ex-Chateau on direct import. Contact anthony_crameri@orange.fr for more information.

Craig Wessels and Restless River Making Waves with the New 2020/21 Releases From the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley…

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The Wessels family have been living on the 20 ha Klein Hemel farm in the Upper-Hemel-en-Aarde for 20 years now, making Restless River wines. Named after the nearby Onrus River (Afrikaans for Restless) that has flooded three times this year and lived up to its name, they’ve been making single-site Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and, interestingly, Cabernet Sauvignon in an area known almost exclusively for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Having inherited the Cabernet vines from the previous owner, they are officially the oldest surviving vines in the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde, and thus something Craig Wessels feels chose him rather than vice versa.

I recently caught up with Craig in London to taste through his new releases, including the fabulous Main Road & Dignity Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 and his now iconic Ava Marie Chardonnay 2021. Restless River is now firmly established as one of the most sought-after premium wineries in South Africa and the wines are definitely worth seeking out.

Restless River Ava Marie Chardonnay 2021, WO Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, 12.6% Abv.

Another exceptional expression of cool climate Chardonnay from the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, which was aged in 500 litre Burgundy barrels, 90% third fill with a 10% new oak portion, together with 10% of the wine aged in 450 litre terracotta amphorae from Florence, Italy. The wine was aged for 12 months in barrel, sur lie, and then for a further three months in stainless steel tanks, followed by 18 months in bottle. On opening, the wine displays top notes of dusty chalk and limestone, honeysuckle, lemon biscuits, freshly baked brioche, lime peel and subtle savoury leesy nuances. Steely and taut, the palate is wonderfully cool, linear and tightly wound while simultaneously offering up an exotic, creamy generosity with a tightly packed core of fresh citrus, waxy lemon rind, and Seville oranges before slightly flinty, reductive mineral hints. A beautifully poised, crystalline expression of Chardonnay with great purity, depth of flavour and classicism. Drink from 2024 to 2034+.

(96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Restless River Main Road & Dignity Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, WO Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, 14% Abv.

Craig Wessels’s Cabernet Sauvignon has now become one of the most sought-after expressions produced in the Cape, despite coming from a region that was not supposed to be suitable for this cultivar. Yet year on year, Craig produces a magical red wine and the 2020 is no exception, aged for 22 months in 20% new 225-litre barrels, the wine is brimming with perfumed aromatics of violets, rose petals, incense, crushed black currants, tilled earth, cocoa, black tea, and melted milk chocolate. Fabulously pure and precise, there is an ethereal quality to the wine that really shines on the palate with a layered complexity of saline crème de cassis, oyster shell, mulberries, black cherry and sweet tobacco nuances. Such vibrancy, freshness and weightless intensity, this really is a superb mouthwatering example with sublime purity and depth, making this another masterful and unique expression of Cabernet Sauvignon from Restless River. Drink now and over the next 15+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Restless River wines are available to UK trade from exclusive importer Swig Wines and to consumers from specialist South African merchant Museum Wines.

The Ongoing Resurrection of the Journey’s End Estate – Tasting a Selection of New Releases with Owner Rollo Gabb…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The first Cabernet Sauvignon was produced from the Journey’s End estate in 2001 and the first Chardonnay in 2002, all from estate fruit. The Kumala brand, which used the Journey’s End name for its premium tier for a short period of time, was sold off in 2004 followed by a complete separation of brands. The first real resurrected “Journey’s End” brand personality started in 2007 when Rollo Gabb took over and a first shipment of wine was exported to the UK through Bibendum Wines, consisting of the 2005 vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Shiraz, and Merlot, signalling the end of the old regime and the start of the new.

The Journey’s End winery is now comprised of a 120-hectare estate which produces a small range of premium hand-crafted wines following minimal intervention, sustainable and organic practices. I caught up in London recently with Rollo Gabb at Quo Vadis, one of the more famous restaurants in his UK business empire, and had an opportunity to reacquaint myself with some of the latest releases from Journey’s End.

Journeys End V6 Sauvignon Blanc 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 13% Abv.

Made from vineyards situated 200m above sea level on south facing slopes, the wine remains on its lees for circa nine months in stainless steel tanks. Lush, vibrant and energetic with tangy tropical fruit acids, and notes of green papaya, mango, white peach, gooseberry and a deliciously vibrant fruit concentration and intensity. A really charming expression with plenty of precision and character. 

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Rollo Gabb tasting in London in 2023.
Journey’s End winemaker Mike Dawson

Journeys End V1 Sauvignon Blanc 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.

Aged in 10% new oak and 80% second fill barrels with 10% also in egg / amphora. 50%/50% wild and inoculated yeasts in the fermentation with malolactic discouraged. Shows powdery aromatics of green melon, green apple, and white blossom with a beautifully round, harmoniously textured palate that is very subtle with no edges, round and voluptuous, but also delicately spicy with a lovely long length.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Journeys End V1 Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 12.9% Abv.

An 87% Sauvignon Blanc and 13% Semillon blend mostly naturally fermented. Classically vibrant and fresh, this wine encapsulates the maritime freshness, energy and zestiness of the Helderberg. The aromatics display lovely notes of wet slate, gooseberry, melon, greengage plums and cut grass that melt into a seamless, harmonious palate bolstered by a tangy acidity, plenty of fleshy peachy fruit and a long, tropically kissed finish. Very impressive indeed. 

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Journeys End Destination Chardonnay 2021, WO Stellenbosch, 13.38% Abv.

A 100% Chardonnay from a single block, that is vulnerable to uneven ripening. Picked in 5 to 6 passes over two weeks. Whole bunch pressed into 228 and 300 litre barrels, 15% new and 85% used oak. Normally, 10-15% malolactic from a few rogue barrels. Shows layers of white pepper and oak spice over pear, green apple and pithy white citrus complexity. A very sophisticated expression with a subtle hint of sapidity before a cool, creamy, elegant mid-palate brimming with vitality, silky soft textured phenolics and a stony, granitic pithy finish. Classy and plush with lovely concentration on the finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Journey’s End V5 Cabernet Franc 2021, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.

First vintage produced in 2017 with increasing production slowly over time. The wine was aged in French old oak barrels for 14 months. Delicious aromatics offer chocolate, cherry, mocha, sweet tobacco, sappy cedar, sweet leaf and an attractive underlay of cassis and blue berry fruits. Picante and spicy on the palate, this is a very well honed, vibrant and superbly elegant expression that is neither too cedary or nor too peppery. Simply blissfully fresh, vibrant and perfectly balanced.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Journey’s End The Griffin Syrah 2018, WO Stellenbosch, 14.5% Abv.

From a 24- to 25-year-old Syrah block using 100% whole bunches on the stems incorporating carbonic maceration and full malolactic fermentation in oak barrels. Spends 18 months in 16% new American oak with the remainder going into second fill French oak barrels. The aromatics are dark and tarry, packed with stewed black cherries, black plum, olive tapenade over a sappy, resinous, smoky black berry complexity. Super rich and unctuous on the palate, the wine boasts textured layers of black berry fruit concentration, sweet mulberry, sappy sweet plum with a vanilla pod kiss of American oak on the finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Journey’s End Cape Doctor Red Blend 2018, WO Stellenbosch, 14.5% Abv.

A complex blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot aged in 100% new French oak barrels. An opulently textured, plush red blend that really shows a bit of swagger. Jam packed full of red berry confit, plum compote, smoky granitic minerality, tobacco leaf, and a hint of sweet vanilla pod spice. Creamy textured, sumptuous and plush, hedonistic but also beautifully approachable, expressive and accessible now. Very impressive blend.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wines are imported into the UK by Bibendum Wines.

Draaiboek Wines Continue to Excel with Their Cool Climate Chardonnays – Tasting the New Release Onskuld and Kinkel 2022s…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

There are many new small boutique wineries in South Africa, most of them run by young winemakers who have a full time day job somewhere big and then produce micro quantities of more interesting fine wines or quirky wines on the side in their own time, normally to exercise their creative cravings. But few of these new ventures take on main stream varieties like Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay as the market is fairly saturated already with countless big name brands.

But of course, that is exactly what Draaiboek Wines set out to do when they released their first Onskuld Chardonnay 2019 on to the market made by Thistle & Weed winemaker Stephanie Wiid. Focusing only on prime cool climate Chardonnay fruit, the Onskuld label was sourced exclusively from several contracted plots in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge ward of the Walker Bay region. Four vintages in and Draaiboek Wines has already garnered multiple awards and high critical praise from local and international commentators.

With the 2022 vintage, Draaiboek Wines releases an exciting new Chardonnay cuvee made from Elgin fruit. I visited Draaiboek Wines and Stephanie Wiid in October 2022 and had the opportunity to taste all the component building blocks of both the Kinkel and the Onskuld 2022 vintage, and from the outset, I knew these were both going to be very impressive wines. The new pair were also both recently awarded 5 Stars in the Platter South African Wine Guide, which considering the competition in this category, stands testament to the focus and attention to detail afforded to both of these wines by the Draaiboek team. If you have not tasted Draaiboek Wines yet, and you are an avid Chardonnay aficionado, you must seek them out.

Draaiboek Wines Onskuld Chardonnay 2022, WO Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, 13.5% Abv.

1.8g/l RS | 6.6g/l TA | 3.31pH

Draaiboek Wines is producing some of the most exciting Chardonnay coming out of the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley and this fourth release of the Onskuld Chardonnay is yet another highly accomplished wine. Spending 10 months in 45% new oak barrels on its fine lees, the minimal intervention winemaking definitely allows this cool climate terroir to shine, with aromatics full of earthy lemon peel, leesy biscuit, oatmeal, white citrus blossom and pronounced wet stone, petrichor mineral nuances. In the mouth, the Onskuld is bold and confident with plenty of cool climate acid tension over tangy lemon pastille and tangerine fruit notes. The balance on the wine is very impressive, as the fruit extract melts seamlessly into a harmonious salty crème brûlée and vanilla pod lime peel spice on the finish. There is really a lot to love about this wine which will undoubtedly appeal to connoisseurs of fine white Burgundy. Drink now and over the next 8 to 10+ years. (4,800 bottles produced.)

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Draaiboek Wines Kinkel Chardonnay 2022, WO Elgin, 13.6% Abv.

1.8g/l RS | 6.7g/l TA | 3.32pH

This fantastic maiden release wine from Draaiboek Wines draws on the very finest elements of the cool climate terroir of Elgin to create a wine from a dry-farmed eight-year-old single vineyard situated on south westerly facing slopes, 255 metres above the coast. Fermented in French oak using 25% new barrels, the wine was aged for 10 months on its fine lees before being bottled unfiltered and unfined. The Kinkel shows a slightly tighter, more restrained aromatic profile on the nose, with subtle hints of lime blossom, lemon peel, Granny Smith apples, dusty limestone, lemon grass and white stone fruits. For all its reserve and wound spring tension, you can sense the electricity pulsing below the surface, waiting to explode on the racy, energetic, saline palate that shows subtle hints of flinty reduction. Once again, like its sibling Onskuld, the oaking is extremely elegant, pinpoint and precise, in no way obscuring the beautiful white citrus zest and liquid minerality that bristles on the taut palate. Seamless, crystalline and delightfully focused, this is a thoroughly exhilarating expression of cool climate Chardonnay and definitely a new release not to be missed! Drink from 2024 to 2034+.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Draaiboek Wines are imported into the UK by specialist SA merchant Museum Wines and are offered for retail at circa £36.99 per bottle.

Polkadraai Hills On the Rise – Another Impressive De Toren Edition Z Release from the 2019 Vintage…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Many producers said that rain and cooler conditions in some South African regions at the end of February and early March 2019 might have hampered some later ripening red grape varieties, but for earlier ripening Merlot based wines, quality was excellent and the finished bottled wines at De Toren are really starting to shine. The cool daytime conditions (and especially nights) of December and January meant that the earlier varieties ripened with lovely vital acidities and great fruit freshness, mostly at lower alcohol levels. But as always, the precision viticulture at De Toren delivered excellent quality fruit with very consistent results.

De Toren Edition Z 2019, WO Stellenbosch, 14% Abv.

This big bold De Toren Edition Z is another opulent, fleshy expression very much in the style of an expressive, generous Right Bank Merlot based blend. The aromatics are rich and powerful, packed full of sweet perfumed violets, stewed black plums, warm blueberry pie, salty cassis and melted black liquorice thoughtfully complimented by hints of sweet cedary oak and a vanilla pod dusting. The medium to full-bodied wine coats the palate with an intensity and concentration of dark berry fruits, dried thyme, black cherry confit, and subtle tarry, black currant notes that linger on the creamy, softly tannic persistent finish. This is a beautifully accomplished Cape Bordeaux red blend that offers seductive drinking now and the power and poise to age beneficially for at least 8 to 10 years.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The De Toren Wines are imported into the UK by The Wine Treasury and Edition Z retails for circa £42pb.

Alheit Vineyards Huilkrans Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2022 Shows All the Markings of a Legendary Wine in the Making…

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In the fine wine world, it is certainly very rare for any new producer to achieve cult status almost immediately, but Chris and Suzaan Alheit’s first vintage of Cartology in 2011 brought them unexpected fame almost over night after Neal Martin bestowed this now legendary wine with a 96/100 point score. Ever since this maiden release, Alheit Vineyards has continued to become one of the most tightly allocated and highly sought-after South African wine names on the international market.

Situated 5 hours drive from their own cellar in the Hemel-en-Aarde, the dry farmed old bushvines growing on red sand over red clay produce wines marked by bristling acidity and clarity of flavour, earthy minerality and natural power. “Every vintage reaffirms the extraordinary properties of this landscape,” says Chris Alheit. The Skurfberg vineyard area is now cemented as one of the Cape’s most extraordinary winegrowing areas and Chris works with two farms here: The ungrafted Chenin Blanc bushvines growing at 540 metres above sea-level on Arbeidseind farm producing the wine called Magnetic North. The Oudam farm is close by, a little lower down at 450 metres above sea-level, and produces Huilkrans. Both farms also contribute Chenin Blanc grapes to Alheit’s Cartology white blend.

Alheit Vineyards Huilkrans Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2022, WO Citrusdal Mountain, Olifants Rivier, 13% Abv.

Made from 35 to 55 year old vines planted on deep orange sand over gravel and clay yields a profound expression of Chenin Blanc displaying complex notes of wet slate minerality, salted nectarines, white peach, dried herbs, fresh hay and smoky fynbos hints. This is a very serious white wine with an imposing presence, where the glycerol palate whispers sublime class. The palate depth and breadth is simply astounding, reassuringly rich and tangy with all the freshness and tension you’d expect with a beguiling intensity and length of pear purée and Poire William nuances. Tantalisingly austere and saline with fruit reserve, a mineral focus with a spicy, wet river pebble liquid minerality, the texture is dream-like, silky, sultry, and elegantly persistent. A Grand Cru wine in every sense of the word! A real stunner. Drink from release and over the next 20+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Alheit Vineyard wines are imported into the UK by merchant Dreyfus Ashby, where the wines are available on strict allocations to trade.

Mullineux Wines Release a Trio of 2021 Single Terroir Syrahs That Could Redefine a New Level of Quality in the Swartland…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Mullineux Wines run by Chris and Andrea Mullineux is one of the most respected quality producers in South Africa as further evidenced by their recent inclusion in the Top 5 Wineries of South Africa poll conducted by Winemag.co.za. With their Signature red and white range only released onto the market as recently as 2008, and their Single Terroir Series wines first released in 2010, they have wasted little time in elevating their wines to some of the most sought-after in the Swartland and the Western Cape.

With Andrea Mullineux in London recently, I caught up with her over lunch to taste what she considers are her finest expressions of Mullineux Syrahs to date. With the Swartland experiencing a very long, cool, atypical vintage, I was intrigued to see what all the hype was about.

Mullineux Single Terroir Syrah 2021s:

Mullineux Granite Jakkalsfontein Syrah 2021, 13.5% Abv.

2.2g/l RS | 5.7g/l TA | 3.70pH

Beautifully taut and tight knit with pinpoint aromatics of crushed granite, gravel, delicate violet and lily perfume, juniper berries and subtle broody black berry fruit notes. The minerality and sappy herbal spices bristle in the glass with an incredibly fine-grained palate with delicately drying, chalky, satin textured tannins that will ultimately come to define this incredible vintage and its astounding weightless focus, dry extract power, cool freshness and seductive finesse. This is a truly exceptional, awe inspiring creation that pushes new quality boundaries for tannin management and palate precision. Drink from 2024 to 2044+.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Mullineux Schist Roundstone Syrah 2021, 13.5% Abv.

2.5g/l RS | 5.5g/l TA | 3.78pH

This beautiful Schist vintage is a real stunner, a gorgeous head turner that oozes quality, confidence and class. Deep, dark and multi-layered, the aromatics boasts complex notes of pressed pink blossoms, Parma violet candies, creme de cassis and saline black berry with delicate notes of cigar ash, graphite, and a concertinaed liquid mineral spice. Fabulously deep, tightly wound, and tight knit at its core but still incredibly, displays its own stylish opulence, expressive character and generosity without compromising the delicately dry tannin extract intensity on the finish. A beautifully spellbinding, seductive expression of Syrah that is sure to take on new dimensions of textural and flavour complexity with extra time in bottle. Drink from 2024 to 2040+.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Mullineux Iron Kasteelsig Syrah 2021, 13.5% Abv.

1.8g/l RS | 5.5g/l TA | 3.80pH

Another incredibly intense, densely textured, finely crafted wine displaying a uniquely individual terroir personality of damp earth and iron from the koffeeklip soils, black liquorice and black olive tapenade with saline cassis and black berry, graphite and oyster shell nuances. The beauty and precision on the palate is spectacular and this is where you really get to witness the compact, dry extract density of the Iron vineyard combined with the cool, intense, highly finessed tannin structure of the 2021 vintage. This is a simply sublime composition of classical terroir-driven Syrah that really stops you in your tracts with its utter majesty and poise. Possibly the finest Iron Syrah produced since 2010. Drink from 2024 until 2044+.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Mullineux wines are imported into the UK by Liberty Wines and available retail from South African fine wine specialist Museum Wines.

Kicking Off the Burgundy 2022 Season With An Inciteful Tasting Of Anne Parent’s Prestigious Domaine Wines in London…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

November traditionally marks the beginning of Burgundy tasting season… tasting dinners, cellar visits, barrel tastings, press reviews, Paulee tastings and of course the annual Hospice de Beaune barrel auction. As the chill and damp of winter truly starts to set in, Burgundy red and white wines seem the obvious choice for any number of fine wine drinking occasions. So we were in for a big treat when Anne Parent from Domaine Parent in Pommard arrived in London for a series of exciting tasting events.

Created in 1803, and located in Pommard (Côte d’Or), Domaine Parent is managed by two sisters, Anne Parent and sister Catherine Fages-Parent, who together represent the 12th generation of the family preserving winemaking traditions dating back to the 17th century. This famous Domaine offers Premiers and Grands Crus, mainly red wines but also several exceptional and highly sought after white wines. Their wines have been fully certified organic (ECOCERT) since their 2013 vintage and they also practice biodynamic cultivation methods though choose not to be certified.

This was the first time I had the opportunity to meet Anne Parent and what a lovely, passionate vigneron she is. UK wine merchants can often be caught murmuring under their breaths how shy and retiring so many Burgundian vignerons are in real life. Well, Anne could certainly not be further from this cliched image, tasting and speaking about her wines with an animated excitement and a genuinely infectious enthusiasm. I had the great fortune to sit alongside her at this recent tasting dinner and she was an utter delight to converse with.

The Domaine Parent wines, a bit like Anne herself, are attractive, friendly, accessible, polished creations that burst with energy and purity but certainly don’t lack the infamous power and poise of premium Pommard wines.

A&C Parent Cremant de Bourgogne 2018, 12.5% Abv.

Vibrant and elegant with a beautiful fine mousse, a piquant salinity, white flowers and a harmonious white citrus creamy intensity on the finish. Delightfully mouthwatering and refreshing.

(Wine Safari Score: 91/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Anne Parent Monthelie 2020 Blanc (Magnum), 13% Abv.

Only 10% white production and 90% red in Monthelie AOC, these are vines grown on deep limestone soils. A beautifully rich, earthy, savoury, biscuity aromatics with a hint of struck match flintiness, waxy lemon peel, wet river pebbles, and limestone minerality. No batonnage, there is a delicious concentration and freshness after 16 months ageing in 35% new French oak, boasting candied lemons, citrus pastille, tangy acids and a delicately exotic yellow fruited finish with a kiss of dried herbs.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Anne Parent Corton Grand Cru Blanc 2019, 13.5% Abv.

17-18 months in 100% new French oak. No batonnage. A direct, intense fresh white with incredible intensity and complexity, showing a vibrant electric acid frame balanced by plush lemon and lime fruits, struck flint reduction, delicate smokiness, and a long, ripe, salted caramel and vanilla pod kissed finish. Simply awesome.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Anne Parent Bourgogne Selection Pomone 2019, 12.5% Abv.

Made from old vine grapes grown on the lower part of Volnay and Pommard, aged for 14m in 600 litre barrels. Delicately exotic and seductive boasting notes of cranberry, pomegranate, salted toffee with crystalline purity, light touch elegance and a taut, crunchy sophisticated strawberry and sour plum length. Very impressive.

(Wine Safari Score: 91+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Anne Parent Pommard Les Croix Blanches 2017 Lieu Dit, 13% Abv.

10% Whole Bunches. 14 months ageing in 35% new French oak. A more serious, taut, structured expression with broody aromatics of damson plum, salty black currant, and a limestone minerality. Palate is tight knit, textured, very precise with fabulous purity, spicy minerality, subtle power and structure with a classical elegance, supple fleshy tannins and a harmonious finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Anne Parent Pommard 1er Cru Les Croix Noires 2016, 13.5% Abv.

Less than one hectare in size made by three growers. Fabulously deep, dark and powerful with a smoky gunpowder minerality over pithy black cherry, struck flint, graphite, Christmas spice and an oak kiss. There is texture and breadth, silky power and precision all arranged in a very compact, powerful, harmonious package built around minerality, acid and restrained red and black fruit purity. Undoubtedly a Vin de Guard that’s more austere and rustic now in a true provocative Pommard style.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Anne Parent Pommard 1er Cru Les Chaponnieres 2016, 13.5% Abv.

A complex aromatics with savoury fleshy overt notes of sweet cranberry, pomegranate, savoury earthy black plum with sweet exotic Asian spices, before a more exotic, opulent expressive palate that already shows a sweet red and black fruited generosity, a glycerol breadth and sweet fruited, pink musk laced elegance and length. Really delicious already.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Anne Parent Pommard 1er Cru Les Argillieres 2019, 13.5% Abv.

40% whole bunch, 45% new oak. An impressively overt, feminine, fleshy generous vintage already showing smoky black berry, black cherry, with sweet herbs, gunpowder and a sweet, plush, more fleshy overt expression of fruit on the long, precise finish. Delightfully opulent now.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Anne Parent Pommard 1er Cru Les Epenots 2019, 13.5% Abv.

100% whole bunch, 100% new oak. Another superbly intellectual wine with plenty of easy generosity, power and intensity as well as its own personality and character. The nose shows earthy sous bois hints, savoury black berries, stewed strawberry compote and a dense creamy long intense finish. Such impressive breadth and textural mouthfeel with real complexity and sensual pleasure.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Domaine Anne Parent Corton Grand Cru Les Renardes 2017, 13.5% Abv.

100% whole bunch, 100% new oak. This is a taut, smoky, classical expression of Corton Pinot Noir with a slight sappy, resinous aromatics laced with red currant, red cherry, savoury black berry and subtle hints of blood orange. The texture is dense and beautifully composed, sleek, tight grained, sweet fruited with tangy acids, fleshy tannins and a long, full, mouth coating intensity. This is classy Corton at its best, showing more in common with the Cotes de Nuits than perhaps the Cotes de Beaune.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The wines of Domaine Anne Parent are imported into the UK by Wimbledon Wine Cellars. Allocations available upon request.

Naude Family Wines Releases Their Most Eye-Catching Chenin Blanc Yet – Tasting the Harmonious But Intense Old Vine Stellenbosch 2021…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The more wines I taste from 2021 in the Cape, the more I believe that this is truly one of the greatest vintages in South Africa’s modern history. For so many producers from so many diverse regions, from the Swartland to Stellenbosch, Elgin to the Hemel-en-Aarde, Paarl to the Klein Karoo, simply everyone seems to have made some exceptional white and red wines in this vintage. But the real clincher is when you talk to the winemakers themselves, whether they are the owners of their businesses and brands or merely working a day job, they all tell you that they don’t think they will make another vintage quite like 2021s in their careers, then you know that they certainly feel the conditions were not only unusual but also exceptional.

For Ian Naude, known to switch between Old Vine vineyards from year to year, he unusually decided to make not only his 2020 Chenin Blanc from this Old Vine Stellenbosch vineyard near the Blaauklippen Estate, but also decided to use this vineyard to make his 2021 vintage in this unusually cool growing season that saw a cold and wet climate with winter rainfall from May to June consistently above average. Cooler conditions significantly impacted the ripening process by slowing down the first half of the harvest before warmer conditions returned towards the end of harvest. In general, ripening was delayed by around 10 to 14 days compared to 2020, most notably among white cultivars, which displayed exceptionally low pH levels and high, bracing acids combined with low alcohols – a Naude wine lovers dream vintage?

With so much recent attention focused on Ian’s escapades up the Wes Kus with his Old Vine Langpad Colombard and his exceptional new Soutbos Old Vine Chenin Blanc / Colombard white blend, one can be forgiven for forgetting that Ian cemented much of his eminent white wine reputation with his maiden Naude Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2013, which still remains to this day, an iconic wine in the annals of Cape winemaking history. This phenomenal new 2021 could very well equal or surpass the heights of the 2013 given half a chance.

Naude Family Wines Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2021, WO Stellenbosch, 12% Abv.

1.82g/l RS | 6.03g/l TA | 3.39pH

Few new wine releases from Ian Naude have created as much excitement as the new Old Vine Chenin Blanc from the 2021 vintage. Already being lauded as one of the most exceptional white and red wine vintages in South Africa in the past 20+ years, this delicious new white does not compromise this notion in any way. First tasted pre-release in March 2023, the wine was a little shy and retiring, giving mere hints of its ultra fine purity, tightly wound structure, its taut acid tension and glimmers of its incredibly harmonious, crystalline fruit concentration. This unusually cool and long vintage has allowed the vines to produce some pristine Chenin Blanc fruit that is undoubtedly sprinkled with more than a pinch of magic dust, boasting incredibly attractive aromatics of pear puree, white peach, crunchy Granny Smith apples, with dried hay, delicate dried baking herbs and an undeniable wet granite minerality. But it is on the palate where the true fireworks ignite, being packed full of piercing tart yellow peach, sour plum, quince and zesty green apple fruit concentration, all wrapped up in a tightly wound but subtle, nervy core of energy so powerful and intense it could be mainlined directly into the Cape Town power grid! Like all truly great wines, the 2021 achieves all its intensity and commanding focus with a supremely unobtrusive elegance, crystalline purity and harmonious synchronicity making this one of Ian’s greatest Chenin Blanc releases to date. Drink now and over the next 15 to 20 years.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)