Full On Misfit

Sakkie Mouton continues to grow his cult reputation and build a quality name for himself and his rugged west coast vinous expressions, all made from some of the most unforgiving vineyard areas in the whole of the Western Cape, four and a half hours north of Cape Town. The vineyards for this specific blend were planted between 1986 and 2017 on Sandstone and silt soils between 15 and 25 kilometres from the cold Atlantic ocean.

Having spent time with Sakkie Mouton in October 2022, and then again in March 2023, before his two most recent visits to the UK, I can clearly see that the young adventurous winemaker that I met in April 2019 at Spec & Bone Restaurant in Dorp Street, Stellenbosch, to taste his maiden 2018 Revenge of the Crayfish Chenin Blanc, has matured and evolved into exactly the bright young talent that I envisaged all those years ago when I described him as “the most exciting talent since Eden Sadie hit the South African wine scene.” It is fulfilling to see Sakkie grow and prosper and especially pleasing to see how popular and collectable his wines have become, not only in South African but also in the UK, Scandinavia and further afield.

Sakkie Mouton presenting a Masterclass in London in June 2023 at the South African High Commission.

The thing about Sakkie, like Eben all those years ago, is that he is on his own mission and has never looked to mimic or copy current wine styles or wine trends in the market. Exceptional talents like Eben or Sakkie have the passion and vision to follow their own dream, their own style, and create something new and noteworthy in a saturated wine world. That is exactly what Sakkie has done with his current wine range, promoting the very best old vine fruit from the west coast and Vredendal / Koekenaap in particular, just like Eden did with the Swartland in the early noughties.

Sakkie Mouton in his Vredendal Chenin Blanc vineyard in October 2022.

The Revenge of the Crayfish 2022 review will follow soon but will sadly probably be sold out before the ink is dry. But if you hunt around, you may still be able to pick up a delicious rogue bottle of Sakkie’s Full On Misfit White Blend 2022. If all else fails, reset your metal detector and watch out for Sakkie’s first red release in September 2023 – a Koekenaap Syrah that I have tasted three times, with each consecutive encounter impressing me more and more. It’s a veritable Allemande Cornas meets Jean-Luc Jamet Cote Rotie in style. But again, you are going to have to be very quick off the mark if you want to secure an allocation. So it’s onwards and steadily upwards for Sakkie Mouton.

Sakkie Mouton Family Wines Full On Misfit 2022 White Blend, WO Western Cape, 12.69% Abv.

1.6g/l RS | 7.0g/l TA | 3.25pH

The Full On Misfit 2022 white blend is a wine made from four different vineyards, located near the cold Atlantic Ocean, stretching from Vredendal to Koekenaap on the West Coast. An ever-evolving blend, the 2022 consists of 54% Chenin Blanc, 22% Colombard, 18% Macabeo and 6% Muscat d’Alexandrie. Bottled unfined and unfiltered with only a small addition of sulphur, the aromatics show a distinct perfumed floral purity with top notes of white blossom, lime leaf, lemon grass, white peach, lime peel and salty maritime notes of sea breeze, kelp and oyster shell. The palate is beautifully refined and harmonious displaying an impressively round, glycerol mouthfeel together with bright, tart, electric briny acids, sea water and savoury nori seaweed over bright, zesty citrus notes of lemon pastille, lime peel and yellow grapefruit. The nine months in barrel with regular bâtonnage broadens the palate and fleshes the wine out adding impressive texture and mid-palate stuffing. With its ingrained West Coast DNA, this wine will never be short on salinity and liquid minerality, two distinct hallmarks of all the wines Sakkie Mouton makes from these rugged Wes Kus grapes. While this is undoubtedly one of Sakkie’s most accomplished white blends to date, his experimentation looks set to continue unabated. Drink this on release after a decant and over the next 8 to 10+ years.

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

Wines are imported into the UK by Museum Wines and Woodwinters. Allocations are available upon request. Retail price for the Full on Misfit 2022 White Blend is circa £29.99pb.

Sakkie Mouton has become a bit of a cult figure ever since I reviewed his maiden vintage of Revenge of the Crayfish 2018 back in April 2019. The public response was indeed spectacular with the traffic to my review almost crashing my website on several occasions. But there’s nothing like a big entrance to build the pressure on ones shoulders and to ensure the mind is focused and ready to produce a second edition!

With the 2020 release of the Revenge of the Crayfish Mark 2, Sakkie proved that the 2018 wasn’t a fluke and that he was in control, had a plan, and was here to stay! The Rooigety (red tide) edition 2019 of the Crayfish has and continues to woo customers and critics alike. This lad can just do no wrong. With Chenin, Sakkie understands his local vineyards, his roots, his neighbourhood and what he wants to achieve with his wines.

But of course there is no holding a good man down and new projects and new wines were always on the cards. That brings us to the Full On Misfit Blanc. Off piste and esoteric for sure, it still amazingly captures the “Wes Kus” spirit and style with a glassy crystalline purity, coastal salinity and of course lovely freshness.

This is not a Crayfish style wine, but it deserves equal attention and most definitely a place in your cellar for Christmas!

Sakkie Mouton Family Wines Full On Misfit Blanc 2020, WO Western Cape, 12% Abv.

Ever so slightly eccentric but definitely esoteric, this new white blend from Sakkie Mouton is a bold mix of 56% Chenel (the Chenin Blanc / Ugni Blanc cross), 24% Colombard and 20% Sauvignon Blanc sourced from West Coast vineyards in Vredendal, Lutzville and Koekenaap. Initially on opening, the wine was a little tight and reticent, revealing more of the Colombard’s green apple and cream soda notes. But with a few hours to open up, the wine slowly starts to unfurl a much more animated expression of crunchy white peaches, white pepper, green pears, sea breeze and a subtle chalky minerality. On the palate the wine definitely shifts into fifth gear, revealing a mouth wateringly vibrant tangy acidity, waves of green apple zest, crunchy white peach, fresh pear puree and just the most subtle hint of tangerine peel. The mouthfeel is full, round, glycerol and confident showing an impressively fleshy weight and an appealing crystalline purity with perhaps a very faint grassy complexity on the long, intense finish. The Colombard DNA is clear to see in this wine but the dark horse that is the Chenel certainly marks the wine with its own unique fingerprint. I suspect that as the wine ages in bottle, the Sauvignon Blanc portion will slowly but surely start to assert its premium varietal character with a little more spicey gooseberry, cut grass and picante green citrus. A wine to drink on release but certainly worth hiding a few bottles away for 3 to 5+ years for further interest. A fine addition to the Sakkie Mouton Family Wines portfolio.

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