The 2023 edition of the Judgement of Wimbledon Grenache Tasting was held last year with one of the most impressive line-ups of Grenache wines to date, and the results were of course always going to be highly contentious. The 14-wine blind flight included three wines from Sierra de Gredos, the mountainous region west of Madrid, four wines from Priorat in Catalonia, one wine from Montsant next door to Priorat, one wine from Vinos de la Tierra Castilla y Leon, three old vine wines from South Africa, one wine from Rioja and one wine from the USA. It was indeed a spectacular array of wines that the tasters thought couldn’t be easily surpassed.
But of course, as another year has passed and another vintage hits the market, so many truly incredible 2021 Garnachas from Spain, among other regions, have become available and the prospects for a fourth consecutive Judgement of Wimbledon have never looked so tantalising! With the line up being restricted to circa 16 to 18 wines, there is, by necessity, a certain amount of pre-selection, that needs to take place before a final line-up can be agreed, and while the judges won’t know the final line up destined for the grand blind taste-off, they certainly get an initial insight into the quality they can expect by tasting in some of the preliminary Judgement of Wimbledon Tasting Pre-Selection assessments.
This year, one of the Kew-based judges volunteered to host one of the preliminary blind tastings and the below report gives a brief but illustrative snapshot of just what is in stall when the final Judgement of Wimbledon 2024 tasting occurs. Some mention should be made to the selection criteria as many people often ask why wines such as Chateau Rayas or some big, ripe Australian expressions are not included. The simple answer is that these wines, from USA, Australia and of course Chateauneuf-du-Pape, in the case of Rayas, are often simply too stand apart and unique, making their expressions incredibly obvious and very easy to identify. So, over many years, the focus has naturally moved to emphasise not only innate quality, but also minerality, freshness, terroir, and classical restraint… which seems to be the modern style of Grenache / Garnacha that has started to captivate the world in the past 3 to 5 years, led by Spain and South Africa, though of course, not exclusively.
With a special acknowledgment and thanks to global wine critic from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, Luis Gutierrez, who contributed many suggestions for the preliminary tastings, proceedings kicked off in January 2024 with the following initial wines tasted blind:
Tasting Line Up (with group average scores):
1. 2021 Vina Zorzal, Senora de las Alturas – 94.1/100 score
2. 2021 Mas Martinet – Els Escurçons – 92.2/100 score
3. 2020 Pegaso Barrancos de Pizarra – 94.9/100 score
7. 2020 Uvas Felices Reina de Los Deseos – 94.9/100
8. 2020 Bodegas Frontonio, El Jardín de Las Iguales Garnacha – 95.2/100
9. 2020 Uvas Felices La Mujer Canon – 95/100
10. 2020 Bruma del Arenero – 92.4/100
11. 2020 Bodegas Frontonio, Las Alas – 94.8/100
12. 2022 Sam Lambson, Experimental Grenache – 91.2/100
Or in order of scoring for individual judges:
Undoubtedly, Spain has made the category of Grenache almost its own with incredible tension, precision, minerality and power. This snapshot tasting was merely a teaser for what is lined up for the grand finale, with some of the above wines possibly making the Final Cut?
Watch out for my full report on the Judgement of Wimbledon 2024 in the coming weeks. It stands to be the pinnacle of Grenache perfection!
One of my highlight tastings of 2023 was undoubtedly a Porseleinberg Syrah vertical tasting hosted in London by winemaker Callie Louw, showing every vintage from the maiden 2010 all the way up until the newest 2021 release – the first time such a tasting had been done in London, if not anywhere for that matter? What was even more remarkable was that the wines were presented by the winemaker himself. Now, if you know Callie, he is even harder to extract from the Swartland than Eben Sadie, so hats off to whoever convinced him that this was a good time to travel to London to promote the wines he’s worked so hard to perfect for over a decade.
People know Callie as the quiet guy, the winemaker who would rather spend his time in the vineyards than in the winery. The silent, hard-grafting artisan that believes the best wines can only be made if you produce the very best grapes… and then the rest will fall into place naturally. He might well have been Dr Callie Louw, but fate decided otherwise, when he changed direction at the University of Stellenbosch to study viticulture rather than medicine, travelling to France, New Zealand, and the United States to do harvests after his graduation. He also completed three harvests at Rustenburg working with Adi Badenhorst on both the Rustenburg Estate range as well as the more commercial Brampton labels prior to the brands sale.
In 2004, Callie started his first permanent position at Vondeling, where he helped design the cellar, and then in 2005 moved on to work at the famous La Soula winery in Côtes Catalanes in the South of France, where it is said he discovered the importance of farming to produce great grapes instead of trying to make great wines inside the winery from average grapes. This would also have been a time when Callie made some of his first in-depth experimentation with organic and biodynamic practices, both of which play an important role in the current wines being produced today at Porseleinberg in the Swartland.
After a brief stint at what was thenTulbagh Mountain Vineyards, Callie was brought in to run and farm a newly purchased wine property in the Swartland in 2009 by Boekenhoutskloof director Marc Kent. This purchase was of course part of the big step for Boekenhoutskloof towards owning more land and vineyards after previously sourcing a lot of grapes from growers for their various brands. 2009 is also the date that marked their move to more vineyard ownership and specifically doing their own vineyard planting.
Funny enough, the small plantings at the original Porseleinberg property were bought and used by Callie and Adi for the Brampton brand back in the day. Nowadays, Callie oversees three important farms – the primary Porseleinberg property, the Goldmine (Kasteelberg) property next door to the Mullineux’s Roundstone farm, and a newer third partnership vineyard. From 2010, the first vintage of Porseleinberg was produced and from 2016, the Porseleinberg project turned completely organic before an enforced temporary hiatus with so many new vineyard plantings being established.
It has perhaps been Callie’s inaccessibility to the wider world that has helped build the aura surrounding the Porseleinberg brand, and today, he is as much part of the brands fabric and persona as the dry, scrubby renosterbos and blue schist soils are to the Porseleinberg vineyards. After eight years of solid, artisanal winemaking, in 2018 Callie made some of the first winemaking changes and started using the submerged cap fermentation process after working a vintage at the iconic Domaine Jamet in Côte Rotie. Before this change, the wines had been made essentially the same way over the past years, with grapes matured in 2 500 litre foudre, all purchased from new. This change in extraction management has arguably changed the wines for the better, allowing for gentler, more finessed extraction while still packing the wines with sturdy textural tannins.
Many consumers in South Africa have told me over the years that if they could do just one vertical tasting for wines drawn from over the past 10 to 15 years, a Porseleinberg Syrah vertical would be top or close to the top of their choices. So here goes… a possibly never to be repeated full vertical of a wine that critic Neal Martin described at the tasting as ‘possibly South Africa’s greatest ‘first growth Syrah’.
Tasting with Neal Martin and Callie Louw
Porseleinberg Vertical: 2010 to 2021:
Porseleinberg 2010, WO Swartland, 13.7% Abv.
Plummy red black opaque colour. Hints of wood smoke, cured meats and savoury black plum spice. Youthful, mineral and restrained on the nose. Palate shows dense grainy tannins, bright vibrant lemony acids and a potent, well balanced black fruited savoury dry grippy mineral finish. Intense and powerful still.
(96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Porseleinberg 2011, WO Swartland, 13.9% Abv.
The famous unreleased vintage. Another good vintage in the Swartland according to Callie, this shows a dark opaque colour with a red black plum colour. Aromatics are vibrantly fresh, mineral and floral with dusty granite, fynbos and dried herbs. The palate is incredibly elegant, tight grained, but peppery, spicy, intense and chalky with proper grip and latent power! Wow! A bit of an iron fist in a velvet glove! But a beauty nevertheless!
(97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Porseleinberg 2012, WO Swartland, 13.6% Abv.
Quite a subdued, dusty mineral nose with broody pithy black fruits, stony hints, dried fennel and sweet lavender. More elegant and loose knit on the palate, the tannins are supple, polished and elegant, even sweet. Still full of potent youthful black mineral laced fruits with notable elegance and finesse. A real beauty that’s ready to go now but certainly not showing its age.
(96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Porseleinberg 2013, WO Swartland, 13.6% Abv.
60% foudre /40% concrete. Consistently an opaque red black colour. Lifted and perfumed with dried lavender, violets, fynbos and pithy black cherry notes. Another supple, vibrantly fresh, pinpoint palate with elegance and harmony but also intensity, purity and seamlessly tight knit powdery tannins and an exotic salty cassis reduction hint on the finish. A really spellbinding vintage. Love it!
(97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Porseleinberg 2014, WO Swartland, 13.5% Abv.
Vintage coming off a very wet winter with massive rainfall. A big yielding vintage as well with 8 t/ha compared to circa 5 t/ha normally. Quite an earthy, plummy savoury nose with cured meats, dried lavender, potpourri, and a smoky, railway yard complexity. The palate shows delicious freshness, vibrant acids and a savoury melange of salty cassis, oyster shell and light soy hints, finishing with mouth coating chalky tannins without being obtrusive. A slightly unique expression but beautiful nonetheless.
(95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Porseleinberg 2015, WO Swartland, 13.6% Abv.
“A stand-alone vintage” as Callie says. This shows a balance between power and finesse a la Northern Rhone with potpourri, dried perfumed lavender, red cherry spice, black berry and subtle smoky reductive cassis hints. In the mouth this is classically taut and precise framed by delicious ‘architecturally soaring’ acids, and incredibly dense fine grained chalky mineral tannins that show a harmoniously balanced power and intensity. A simply profound expression of Syrah.
(97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Porseleinberg 2016, WO Swartland, 14% Abv.
No spring, just straight from a very dry winter into a dry summer with very dry conditions with rivers drying up in January. 1-2 t/ha yields. Nose shows a youthful sweetness of red berries, red plum sweet garrigue and dried violet flowers. The palate delivers massive weight and concentration of sweet black cherry and cassis fruit with layers of liquorice, tar, blackberry compote and subtle salty toffee and vanilla spice on the finish. An exotic, opulent but pretty vintage drinking very well now.
(96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Porseleinberg 2017, WO Swartland, 14.1% Abv.
Shows again a big ripeness but with perhaps more restraint than the 2016. But of course another very dry season that was cooler with some later rains allowing 3 t/ha cropping. A very savoury Rhoney nose with aromatics of sweet herbs, garrigue, wood spice with weightless elegance, subtle restraint and incredible finesse. Texturally pinpoint but a bit of a sleeper still.
(96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Porseleinberg 2018, WO Swartland, 14.3% Abv.
Submerged cap used a la Jamet for the first time in 2018. Another dry year, the wine is packed with tannins but they are less obvious allowing fruit power and concentration to shine. “Eminently age worthy” according to Callie. The nose shows plenty of sweet herbs, sappy spice, sandalwood, garrigue and savoury Rhoney notes of black berries, cured smoked meats and olive tapenade. The palate shows massive concentration with elegance, finesse and a profound, mouthwatering tangy acidity with pithy red plum and mulberry notes on the finish. Suave tannins, creamy elegant length and a real Northern Rhone presence. This is of course the fabled Tim Atkin MW 100 pointer… but a delicious wine nonetheless!
(97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Porseleinberg 2019, WO Swartland, 13.9% Abv.
Dark opaque black plum colour with a more translucent ruby rim. Slightly subdued aromatics with earthy, sappy notes of black plum, black berry and savoury raw meat nuances. Soft and supple on the palate, there is plenty of green herby spice, green peppercorns, coriander and sweet leaf with fine grained mineral tannins, ample grip but a slightly shorter finish. Leave this one in your cellar for now.
(95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Porseleinberg 2020, WO Swartland, 13.6% Abv.
Showing in a slightly shy restrained manner, the aromatics need coaxing out the glass to reveal notes of salted caramel tinged with black berries, smoky charcuterie and dried herbs and Provencal garrigue. Supple, elegant and creamy in the mouth with dry chalk soft tannins with a slight grip but supported by ample layers of black fruit, soft integrated harmonious acids and plenty of black peppery spice on the finish. A good rather than great vintage.
(95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Porseleinberg 2021, WO Swartland, 13.9% Abv.
2021 was a long, cool blockbuster vintage for Porseleinberg after a cold, wet winter. Also the fourth vintage using the new ‘submerged cap technique’ that Callie brought back from Cote Rotie after visiting Domaine Jamet, the aromatics are wonderfully deep, dark and power packed with exotic sweet Provencal herbs, olive tapenade, black currant, savoury cured meats, sappy wood spice, and a very seductive black cherry intensity. The palate is super sleek, bright and fleshy, and the texture deliciously opulent, generous and beautifully creamy with salty cassis, smoked German charcuterie, chargrilled meats and a long, suave, polished finish with the most well managed and perfectly formed tannins of any Porseleinberg vintage to date. A very pure and profound expression of Syrah from one of the world’s great terroirs. Simply wow! Exceptional. Drink now until 2035+.
(98+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
So, there you have it. A few take away points from this snapshot tasting. If you have any of these vintages, including the 2010 maiden release, you can sleep easy as they are all pure, clean, and incredibly youthful still. No rush whatsoever if they are stored correctly. Another surprise, was perhaps how well the lesser regarded vintages were showing such as 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016 etc. Again, less robust, blockbuster vintages but often the wines I thought I would like to take home and drink.
Porseleinberg vintages are not cheap wines for local South Africans to buy and with the 2021 hitting the shelves in the UK at first release prices of circa £69.99 per bottle, the wine ought to be pretty good. Having said that, it does indeed deliver in spades!
The Porseleinberg Wines are imported into the UK by New Generation Wines and are available for retail on release from specialist South African merchant Museum Wines.
The original Boekenhoutskloof farm in Franschhoek was established in 1776. The chairs on the now famous wine labels all pay tribute to the skills of the 18th century craftsmen and their achievements in creating beautiful furniture from natural sources, in this case, mostly Boekenhout or indigenous Cape Beech trees, which were highly prized for furniture making at the time.
Under the leadership of Marc Kent, the first Boekenhoutskloof wines were produced in 1996 after the property was bought in 1993, with the legendary 1997 Syrah capturing the attention of wine critics globally. Over the years, there have been several brand extensions including the creation of the Porcupine Ridge and Wolf Trap brands as well as the Chocolate Block red blend.
Marc Kent
More recently, considerable investments in the Swartland have led to large scale plantings of mostly Syrah, which for Boekenhoutskloof culminates in the pinnacle of quality with their Porseleinberg Syrah brand managed and produced by Callie Louw. On the eve of the vintage 2021 Semillon, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah releases, I thought it would be an opportune moment to reflect on the quality of several back vintages of each wine. My notes were taken from a tutored masterclass in London presented by Marc Kent in January 2023.
Semillon Flight:
Traditionally made from circa 97% Semillon from three vineyards planted in 1902, 1936 and 1942, and 3% Muscat d’Alexandrie planted in 1902.
Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2001
Honey, buttered toast, salted caramel and lanolin on the nose. Soft, piquant Sherry like palate with richness, an incredibly saline vein, and deliciously pithy and fresh with a bitter almond skin finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 92/10 Greg Sherwood MW)
Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2002
Dark gold in colour. The nose shows mushrooms, forest floor, earthy savoury notes, old honey. The palate is creamy, revealing salted caramel, a rich core of yellow stone fruit and a nutty walnut finish. Fresher in the mouth than on the nose.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/10 Greg Sherwood MW)
Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2009
Aromatics of honey on buttered white toast, white blossom, honey suckle, lanolin and a touch of stony reduction. Beautiful balance and creamy texture, fabulous purity, with liquid minerality, a fine tension and a good, long concentrated finish. Truly stylish! Wow!
(Wine Safari Score: 97/10 Greg Sherwood MW)
Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2010
Aromatics of dusty minerals, tea leaf, dry tobacco and lemon peel. The palate is creamy, pure and precise showing lemon butter, honey on white toast, and a piquant, nutty, pleasantly bitter finish. Rich and textural with plenty of dry extract, a silky texture and salty taut finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/10 Greg Sherwood MW)
Boekenhoutskloof Semillon 2020
Attractive pale gold. Reductive white Burgundy nose with peach stone, crushed limestone, and smoky white citrus. Sleek and pure frutied, crystalline and focused with superb wound spring tension and a reductive, smoky minerality on the long finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 97+/10 Greg Sherwood MW)
Cabernet Sauvignon Flight:
Until the 2014 vintage, Boekenhoutskloof only produced a Wine of Origin Franschhoek Cabernet Sauvignon, which was then joined by the WO Stellenbosch Cabernet.
Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon 2001, WO Franschhoek
Salty caramel, piquant oak spice with savoury black tea notes with leather and sweet earthy red currant fruit underneath. Lovely intensity with a defined focus and saline, tart glassy frame. Very Claret-like, cool and classical.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/10 Greg Sherwood MW)
Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon 2002, WO Franschhoek
The nose is very complete and complex, full of sweet tobacco, black chai tea spice, dense earthy black currant and black plum. Plush and vibrant on the palate with glassy acids, a slightly angular frame but also beautiful balance. Quite traditional but really lovely now.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/10 Greg Sherwood MW)
Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, WO Franschhoek
Big vintage, big wine. Dense and punchy with earthy blue and black fruits, stewed plums and sweet tannery leather. Plush and creamy, touch piquant with notes of tertiary sweet tomato emerging. Possibly some slight oxidation on the bottle? I would expect more from a pristine bottle of 2009, a great red vintage in SA.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/100?? Greg Sherwood MW)
Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, WO Franschhoek
Much tighter, denser, and compact with ample notes of tannery leather, black berry fruits and exotic peach skin top notes. Palate is youthful and fresh, still with slightly drying grippy tannins, crisp soft fresh acids and a harmonious balance overall. If the fruit holds while the tannins soften further, this could be an absolute cracker.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/10 Greg Sherwood MW)
Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, WO Franschhoek
Cool, sleek and elegant. Shows coffee cream, mocha, charcoal embers and piquant black chocolate. Very fine grained, compact and harmonious with a feeling of real precision. Classy and elegant as always, with a fresh, fine grained grippy finish. Should evolve into an absolute gem.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/10 Greg Sherwood MW)
Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, WO Stellenbosch
Stony, broody and tight with a hint of tilled earth, graphite, black cherry and stewed earthy red berries. Lovely power, muscle and shape in the mouth with creamy drying youthful tannins, and a long, black fruited, mineral finish. Archetypal Stellenbosch Cabernet.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/10 Greg Sherwood MW)
Syrah Flight – (SH21 Syrah Clone):
Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2001, WO Western Cape
Polished mahogany, wood spice, savoury red fruits with a hint of leather and molasses. Palate is dense and lactic, chocolatey, and quite appealing. Still a big bold wine with some tertiary development on the minty finish.
(Wine Safari Score: 93/10 Greg Sherwood MW)
Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2002, WO Western Cape
Touch of reduction still with blue and black fruits, violets and purple flowers. Palate is fresh, crisp, and taut with sweet tangy red and earthy black fruits, hints of leather, tobacco, cured meats and kalamata olive tapenade on the finish. Lovely cooler vintage.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/10 Greg Sherwood MW)
Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2009, WO Western Cape
Cool, stony and sleek with chalky drying tannins and earthy aromatics of coffee bean, stewed plum, and sun raisined cherries. Super creamy and plush on the finish with a savoury, tertiary hint developing. Drinking very well but probably won’t improve further, so start enjoying now.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/10 Greg Sherwood MW)
Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2010, WO Western Cape
Cooler vintage like 2002. Nose is smoky and savoury with sappy red and black berry fruit nuances, red apple skins and a stony mineral dustiness. Sweet fruited, plush and broad on the palate with savoury red berry fruits, strawberry jam and earthy, youthful notes. A serious vintage making a serious wine with a very subtle tarry finish. Yum.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/10 Greg Sherwood MW)
Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2020, WO Swartland
Boekenhoutskloof are now farming over 200 hectares of Swartland fruit from three farms. (The 2011 vintage included some Porseleinberg fruit.) Newer vintages consist of 90% Porseleinberg and 10% Goldmine Syrah from the farm next door to Mullineux’s Roundstone property. Deliciously youthful and grapey with notes of violets, lavender, sweet grilled herbs, charcoal embers and a leafy sapidity. Palate is super light on its feet with purity, black cherry elegance and pithy graphite hints, finishing with a weightless concentration and a soft blueberry complexity. Very classy indeed.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/10 Greg Sherwood MW)
The wines are imported into the UK by New Generation Wines and are available retail from South African fine wine specialist merchant Museum Wines. http://www.museumwines.co.uk
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.
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+.
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.
Jasper Wickens started working with Adi Badenhorst at the Kalmoesfontein property in the Paardeberg in 2009 and was a central character in the whole Swartland Revolution movement. Exactly 10 years after he first moved to the Paardeberg, Jasper completed his final harvest at AA Badenhorst Family Wines in 2018 as he prepared to move full-time into the repurposed wine cellar at his Waterval farm next door to focus on his own Swerwer range that was established back in 2012.
Jasper’s Swerwer range is now quite extensive and includes, among others, a Chenin Blanc, an old vine skin contact Tiernes Chenin Blanc, a Semillon Gris, as well as reds made from Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Tinta Barocca, and Touriga Nacional. Jasper is undoubtedly making some of the most exciting wines in the Swartland and his 2021 expressions from this cooler vintage are some of his best yet.
An alluring medium straw golden yellow colour, the aromatics speak of the Swartland’s unique granitic terroir, loaded with crushed rocks, dusty grey slate, dried straw, baking herbs, lemon peel and grated pear. Mineral, earthy and stony, the wine bursts to life on the palate with its vibrant, bright tangy acids promoting notes of white peach, yellow orchard fruits, tart plum and hints of crisp quince. The wine possesses an impressive textural density, a glycerol yellow stone fruit concentration and a liquid minerality all tightly interwoven so as to present an incredibly harmonious white with a delicious equilibrium. Jasper has really nailed the beautiful 2021 vintage with some supremely fine white wines. Drink on release and over the next 10+ years.
(95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
JC Wickens Swerwer Red Blend 2021, WO Swartland, 13% Abv.
A delicious red blend made up of Cinsault, Grenache and Tinta Barocca, this is a cool crystalline red wine that marries these traditional Swartland cultivars sourced from mostly gnarled old vines grown on deep decomposed granitic soils. With the grace and freshness of the Cinsault and Grenache, this blend is delightfully bright, elegant, and vibrant with a distinct cool sense of purity and precision. Initially savoury and sightly meaty on the nose when opened, the aromatics soon blossom to reveal perfumed notes of pressed violets, lavender, bramble berries and wild strawberry with an inviting underlying earthy fynbos and sweet garrigue spice. But this cool, elegant 2021 vintage is ultimately all about freshness, vitality and mid-palate tension, with the Tinta Barocca adding extra depth and tannic structure without compromising the wine’s overall balance and finesse. This is certainly a mouth-watering creation that offers enticing drinkability and red meat friendly food accompaniment. Drink on release and over the next 5 to 8+ years.
(94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Jasper with his 2023 Syrah grapes.
JC Wickens Swerwer Touriga Nacional 2021, WO Swartland, 13% Abv.
This delicious 2021 Touriga Nacional from Jasper Wickens is made from vines planted in deep granitic soils on cooler mountain slopes in the Swartland, with grapes harvested earlier to retain a freshness and elegance easy lost in this warm region. Naturally whole bunch fermented and treated to very gentle extraction, this cooler vintage red show’s this Portuguese cultivar’s true heritage with lifted aromatics of floral red flowers, lilac, earthy bramble berries, black berries and black plum with undertones of smoked meats, bresaola, fireplace wood embers and a subtle sappy wood spice. The palate is equally impressive with plenty of overt juicy black and earthy red berry fruits that really shine under the coolness of the wines modest 13% alcohol. Elegant and complex, the wine retains a wonderfully soft texture and mid-palate balance with fine sweet silky tannins and notes of orange peel, grilled herbs and sweet savoury black berries. The finish sees an understated but concentrated length with a gracefully dense persistence, making this a really very attractive and appealing Touriga Nacional expression. Drink on release and over the next 3 to 5+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Jasper Wickens’ Swerwer Wines are imported exclusively into the UK by Museum Wines.
Jasper Wickens and his viticulturist wife, Franziska Wickens, live and make wine on her family farm, Waterval (Waterfall), in the very heart of the Swartland. Neighbouring some of South Africa’s most sought-after Swartland producers in the Siebritskloof Valley on the northern side of the Paardeberg, they are in the proverbial thick of it with people like Adi Badenhorst, Jasper’s previous employer on Kalmoesfontein, Eben Sadie on Rotsvas, and David & Nadia Sadie.
The Paardeberg, with its 500-million-year-old magma and the resulting domes of granite and microclimates, makes for an intriguing winegrowing terroir. The different soil types, specifically decomposed granite, offer a freshness unique to the Valley to both whites and reds – something the whole wine-drinking world has started cottoning on to. With an unusually cool and slow ripening vintage like 2021, Jasper Wickens has produced some of his most profound wines yet.
Jasper’s Waterval farm wine cellar in the Paardeberg. Tasting new vintages with Jasper in March 2023.
At a recent tasting, I caught up with famous wine critic Dr Jamie Goode from the Wineanorak.com and shared a bottle of the latest release Swerwer 2021 Shiraz from Jasper. We were all suitably impressed.
JC Wickens Swerwer Shiraz 2021, WO Swartland, 13.5% Abv.
The Swartland is a warm, dry grape growing environment which makes this beautiful new release Shiraz 2021 from Jasper Wickens all the more remarkable. A bright vibrant ruby red colour, the expressive aromatics simply burst out of the glass, teasing the senses with incredibly intense, pure floral aromatics of violets, cherry blossom and rose petals that melt into pristine notes of sweet red cherries, tart red plums together with hints of cranberry and wild strawberry. The subtle notions of white pepper and salty red liquorice follow to the exquisitely elegant tight-knit palate that displays wonderful freshness and energy, drawing on the cooler vintage conditions of 2021 to offer up such impressive purity and precision matched by a deft pinpoint structure. The finish is delightfully cool, mineral and restrained delivering a deliciously focused raspberry and cherry fruited saline persistence that will definitely lure you back again and again for another sip. A truly noteworthy expression of Swerwer Shiraz. Drink on release and over the next 6 to 8+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The JC Wickens Swerwer wines are imported and distributed in the UK by South African specialist merchant Museum Wines.
The first Assyrtiko white I tasted from South Africa was Eben Sadie’s Sadie Family Assyrtiko 2015 produced from bunches picked from his two-year-old vines planted around his winery, coming in at 12% alcohol with a bone dry 1.4 g/l RS, a vibrant 5.9 g/l TA and a lowish pH of 3.28. The wine was astonishing and had all the salinity, mouth watering tartness and savoury fleshiness you would hope for on a delicious example. Almost all the wine made from this small crop was consumed at Cape Wine 2015 during the “alternative varieties” seminar presented by Eben Sadie and Rosa Kruger. A superb tasting that was standing room only… and also featured Sadie Family experimental wines from Verdelho, Mencia and Agiorgitiko, Newton Johnson’s maiden 2014 Albarino and Bosman’s maiden Nero d’Avola 2014.
While Eben may have pulled up all these early vines and replanted them with better vine material, he continues to make an Assyrtiko from grapes from a secret vineyard on limestone soils up the west coast near St Helena Bay. The exact location is apparently a closely guarded secret. I saw a concrete egg of the 2022 vintage in October last year at the farm but was unable to taste it as it had just been topped up by winemaker Paul Jordaan. Apparently it is destined to be blended away in the Palladius. But it was the Mullineuxs, Eben’s Swartland neighbours, who succeeded in bottling the first commercial Assyrtiko along with Stellenbosch producer Gary Jordan. The Mullineux Assyrtiko was planted at their Roundstone farm along with Macabeo, Verdelho, Vermentino and a few others cultivars while Gary had already put in two large blocks of Assyrtiko and is planning a third.
Jordan’s first Assyrtiko block pictured in youth in February 2020.
With Assyrtiko famous for making vibrantly fresh white wine styles even at elevated alcohol levels, and being very drought and heat resistant, it looks set to become one of South Africa’s most popular “cult” varieties in the years ahead. For now, the Jordan Winery and the Mullineuxs are producing two exemplary examples and I recently popped the corks and tasted these two new release 2022 Assyrtikos head-to-head.
Jordan Assyrtiko 2022, WO Stellenbosch, 13% Abv.
An expressive, dusty, mineral expression that shows an almost granitic Chenin-like fruit core with plenty of maritime salinity, white flower perfume, rock salt, freshly cut fennel and crunchy white pear. But from young vines, this is a very impressively constructed wine with a cool fleshy core, tangy acids and a peachy, green apple rock candy and piquant bite on the finish. A truly wonderful expression that may still lack some of the true volcanic “island feel” of the greatest Santorini white Assyrtiko wines, but it is nevertheless an incredible interpretation of this variety considering the age of the vines. Keep a very close watch on future releases of this wine that is sure to become a South African cult collectable.
(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Mullineux Family Wines Assyrtiko 2022, WO Swartland, 13% Abv.
This beautiful Swartland expression shows a dense, mineral smoky aromatics with complex notes of crushed granite, dried kelp, clementine peel and sea breeze. The palate shows intricate textural layers, ample structure and deliciously complex stone fruit nuances with a definite liquid minerality undertone. A really impressive creation that blossoms in the glass showing tangerine and pithy lemon pastille. Like all the wines in the Mullineux range, this is yet another classy, polished varietal expression. Drink now and over the next 4 to 6 years.
(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Mullineux Wines are imported into the UK by Liberty Wines and Jordan Wines are represented exclusively by Awin Barret Siegel Wine Agencies (ABS).
One of the many hangovers of the Covid-19 pandemic was the inability to travel resulting in endless zoom tastings that eventually overtook most wine reviewers’ lives. Thankfully, fully immersive wineland travels are back for real but sometimes, tasting on zoom can be very handy especially if you’re tasting some new releases from Chris and Andrea Mullineux while Chris is in South Africa, Andrea is working the trade in San Francisco, and I’m sitting in a sunny London!
Always thrilled to catch up with this wine industry power couple, whether over Mullineux wines or new Leeu Passant releases, but even more so when there are new and exciting maiden releases in the mix! Yes, after how many years working out of a winery in the Franschhoek Valley, the Mullineux’s have finally bottled a Wine of Origin Franschhoek Semillon, and what a cracker it is too! In fact, the entire range of new releases is spectacular, as usual, and definitely worth tracking down and finding a space for them in your cellar.
Included in the line-up is the maiden 2021 Franschhoek Semillon, a steely 2021 Stellenbosch Chardonnay, and the fourth (I think) release of their Radicales Libres Chardonnay from Barrydale. On the reds, the Franschhoek ‘Lotter’ Old Vine Cinsault is sadly no longer, so the Wellington ‘Basson’ Old Vine Cinsault once again takes centre stage alongside an incredible Helderberg Cabernet Sauvignon and a classy, regal, Leeu Passant Dry Red flagship blend.
Leeu Passant Franschhoek Semillon 2021, WO Franschhoek, 12.5% Abv.
2.1g/l RS | 6.0g/l TA | 3.22pH
This impressive maiden release 2021 Franschhoek Semillon seems a perfectly natural progression for the Mullineuxs. Afterall, they have created one of the most impressive wineries in the Franschhoek Valley and Andrea Mullineux is also a great Semillon Gris afficionado. This wonderful Semillon was tasted over three days and while it was suitably impressive on day one, like all Mullineux whites, it gained weight and complexity over the subsequent two days. Initially taut and steely with a hint of stony reduction, the aromatics are already wonderfully complex, showing notes of pithy white citrus, green pear, freshly cut Granny Smith apples, white peach and caper brine over delicate layers of lemongrass, crushed granite, hay and lanolin. The vibrancy and electric acidity are one of Chris and Andrea’s favourite features about this wine, searing the palate with its liquid laser beam intensity and precision. With time in the glass, the stony white and yellow crystalline fruits gain weight and a little extra palate breadth, while all the while remaining supremely elegant, softly spoken and mouth-wateringly appealing. A very impressive wine from a classical top quality white vintage. Drink now and over the next 10 to 15+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Leeu Passant Stellenbosch Chardonnay 2021, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.
1.8g/l RS | 7.2g/l TA | 3.17pH
This Leeu Passant white has always featured as one of the top Chardonnays in South Africa and so not surprisingly, this new expression from the epic 2021 vintage is another superstar. The 2021 shows a cool, steely inner beauty that resonates with bright crystalline aromatics of ripe white citrus, sour yellow grapefruit, warm freshly baked buttered pastries, toasted nuts and a beguiling, evocative minty yellow orchard fruit nuance. The wine slowly unfurls in the glass benefiting immeasurably from being opened, gradually revealing a wonderful complexity and mid-palate depth of green apple cordial, orange citrus oil, stone fruits, tangerine, oatmeal and subtle vanilla pod spice. The racy acids are linear, intense and penetrating, displaying real cut and focus, balancing the pure tangy citrus fruits before tapering off gradually to a clean, tense, mineral finish. A truly pitch perfect expression of cooler coastal Chardonnay that surely deserves a place in your cellar! Drink now in its youth after a short decant or over the next 10 to 15+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Leeu Passant Radicales Libres Chardonnay 2017, WO Klein Karoo, 14% Abv.
1.3g/l RS | 6.7g/l TA | 3.38pH
“Birth and resurrection in a bottle” according to Andrea Mullineux. This wine is an experimental Chardonnay from Joubert Tradouw vineyards in Barrydale, Klein Karoo, originally created in the early days of Leeu Passant when the Mullineux’s were experimenting with various new Chardonnay vineyards around the Western Cape including in the Elandskloof. The 2014 vintage saw the bottling of a Cape Winemakers Guild Radicales Libres Chardonnay to great acclaim, that replaced the one and only Chenin Blanc based Radicales Libres bottling from 2012. Now a regular feature in the range, this 2017 is simply one of the most unique, intense and characterful fine wines produced in the whole of the Cape. Picked at normal ripeness but aged for five years in barrel with a topping up once a year, allows the wine to concentrate naturally to eventually reveal an incredible energy and vibrancy together with intricate but supremely complex aromatics of candied lime peel, roasted hazelnuts, lemon oil, brine, sun dried Granny Smith apples, melted honey, dried herbs and lemon meringue pie. Almost 60 months in barrel has concentrated the complex flavours on the full-bodied palate, leaving an elevated tangy acidity to boldly preserve the wines freshness, elegance and mouth-watering textural harmony. With only 1,780 bottles produced, you may sadly find it very challenging to track down a bottle to indulge yourself. But if you do, pop the cork and bathe in the golden glory of this incredible wine. Drink now and over the next 20+ years. (Due to the slightly oxidative nature of the wine, I tasted it multiple times over a period of 5 days.)
(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Leeu Passant Wellington Old Vines Basson Cinsault 2021, WO Wellington, 14% Abv.
2.0g/l RS | 4.9g/l TA | 3.83pH
Always an exceptionally fragrant and expressive wine, this regal centenarian old vine Cinsault bursts forth with deep, bold, rich, complex whole-cluster aromatics of sweet red currant compote, sun raisined cranberry, earthy pomegranate, bramble berry fruits and sweet red plums over potpourri, Turkish delight and delicate rose water notes. On the palate, this 2021 shows a seductive red fruited opulence that is at once plush and accessible but also quite distinctly savoury, laced with a stony, liquid minerality, polished marble tannins and plenty of horsepower under the bonnet. This is about as serious as Cinsault gets with fabulous structure, an intense red cherry fruited concentration and notable muscular palate power. Like all the Basson Cinsaults of recent years, this classical masterpiece will benefit from a good few years in the cellar but is also ready to show its opulence now if you simply cannot wait. Drink from release and over 15 to 20+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Leeu Passant Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, WO Stellenbosch, 13.5% Abv.
2.0g/l RS | 5.4g/l TA | 3.6pH
It’s quite curious but one does not automatically think of the Mullineuxs when you mention Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon. But they have, over the past 5 years, slowly and fastidiously crafted one of the most respected expressions of Helderberg Cabernet Sauvignon produced in the Cape. This 2021 is another cool climate beauty that shows a delightfully perfumed aromatic spectrum of fresh violets, dried herbs, pressed rose petals and subtle hints of dried kelp, saline black currant, sweet cherry tobacco, cedar spice and delicate touches of iodine. This is a deliciously sumptuous wine with seamlessly contoured textural lines that would make a 1960’s E-Type Jaguar jealous. The dark cassis laden fruits are plush and creamy with an underlying acid vivacity and salinity that really enliven the wine. Again, I drank this beautiful red wine over three nights and enjoyed it more and more as each day followed. That is not to say it wasn’t utterly delicious on day one, but if you know Andrea’s winemaking precision, she hides all sorts of secrets in her wines that are only really revealed after a couple of days open. This of course bodes particularly well for those patient enough to cellar these vinous gems for more than a few years. This 2021 displays a freshness and brilliance not often seen on Cabernet Sauvignon and is by far one of the most attractive vintages produced to date. Drink on release and over the next 20+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Leeu Passant Flagship Red 2020, WO Coastal Region, 13.5%
1.9g/l RS | 5.5g/l TA | 3.52pH
The 2020 edition of the flagship Leeu Passant dry red blend, as inspired by some of the classical heritage red blends of the 1950’s and 1960’s, is made up of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Cabernet Franc, both sourced in the Helderberg, blended together with 10% of Cinsault from the 120+ year old vine Basson Wellington vineyard that is farmed and managed by the Mullineuxs. The 2020 is not a particularly powerful vintage but more a year of perfume and floral intricacy. The aromatics are nevertheless broad and complex revealing notes of sweet cedar spice, fragrant dried violets, potpourri, saline black currant and a dusty, chalky, granitic minerality. On the palate there is a definite feeling of fruit concentration and salinity, power and assured confidence supported by compact sweet glycerol tannins and a bright tangy acidity. The palate is broad and dense, and its flavour sensations wash over the tongue in tidal waves of black currant, bramble berries and black cherries with a black tea tannin spice. This is a serious effort but also a vintage showing a lot more accessibility earlier on without compromising its age ability. If you are clever enough to put some of this in your cellar, you can expect to see it evolve beneficially for at least 15 to 20+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The wines are distributed to trade in the UK by Liberty Wines and to the trade in the US by Skurnik Wines.
‘Axle’ is an anagram of Alex and was made at the request of Alex Milner’s wife, who disparaged their ‘light-reds-only’ policy and demanded a white wine option of similar quality and style… and thus the Axle Chenin Blanc was born.
The Axle Chenin Blanc is made by Alex Milner of Natte Valleij winery from grapes sourced from a dryland grown old bush vine certified Darling heritage block planted in 1985 on decomposed granite soils. Made in a very minimalist, low intervention manner without losing any of its fine wine integrity, this wine represents a classy textural style of serious (and seriously delicious) Chenin Blanc.
Old Vine Certified Heritage vineyard from 1985.
The grapes were basket pressed and allowed to settle for 24 hours, then racked into old 225 litre oak barrels with careful addition of fine lees sediment to each barrel. After a natural fermentation, the wine received regular bâtonnage until late May. Aged in barrel over winter, the wine was bottled in the Spring after 9 months.
Tasting the Axle Chenin Blanc in the UK with Alex Milner in May 2023.
Natte Valleij Axle Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2022, WO Darling, 13% Abv.
In the glass, this wine shimmers with a translucent golden yellow straw intensity, revealing rich exotic aromatics of incense, potpourri, grapefruit marmalade, yellow peach, dried apricots and attractive hints of stem ginger. The addition of the fine lees really adds another dimension of texture and complexity to the wine, lending an almost Sauternes-like breadth and opulence to the nose. The palate is equally plush, glycerol and broad but with a majestic coolness and creamy harmony that allows delicate notes of tangy apricot, peach and dried guava to linger on the long, intense dry granitic finish. This is another magnificent creation from this regal old vine Darling Chenin Blanc vineyard and undoubtedly a wine that is going to woo its already sizeable cult following. Drink on release and over the next 5 to 8+ years.
(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Natte Valleij wines are imported into the UK exclusively by Museum Wines. The Axel Chenin Blanc is available retail from Vincognito.co.uk at circa £20.95 per bottle.
“These old bush vines must come from the most isolated and lonely vineyard we bring into our cellar” winemaker Alex Milner quips. Planted on a lonely hill surrounded by wheat fields, and too many gates to remember, this vineyard stands very alone. Planted in 1978 on Malmesbury formation soils, with some influence of decomposed granite, it faces South Southwest and experiences the important cooling summer wind of the afternoon South Wester blowing in off the Atlantic, only 16km away. It is this uniqueness that allows Natte Valleij to offer something of exceptional quality and interest. This Cinsault was matured for 11 months in a 2500 litre old oak foudre to maintain the poise and reflection of this old vineyard’s terroir.
I recently caught up with Alex Milner in March at his cellar during harvest and then again in early May in London to taste through all his new releases. But two of his wines specifically left a very big impression on me, namely his single vineyard old vine Cinsault reds from Stellenbosch and Darling, that are made in circa 2,000 bottle quantities.
Pressing the 2023 Darling Old Vine Cinsault in March.
Natte Valleij Darling Old Vine Cinsault 2021, WO, 12% Abv.
This Darling Old Vine 2021 Cinsault is really something to behold. If ever there was a wine that proved that Cinsault could be world-class, then this is it. In the glass, the wine shows an opaque red plum colour and has a hedonistically high-toned perfumed aromatics of freshly picked rose petals and sweet lilacs before a complex melange of crunchy red orchard fruits seduces the senses. Wonderfully fresh and vibrant, the soft fleshy palate reveals potent notes red cherry, raspberry and strawberry pastille fruits before the classic Darling hallmark Turkish delight nuances come to the fore. Delicately mineral with a succulent intensity and tangy sweet and sour acidity, this 2021 Darling Cinsault is definitely ‘hall of fame’ quality with focus, depth and precision. Drink on release to enjoy its rose petal floral freshness or cellar for 6 to 8+ years to allow the old vine fruit to show its true regal potential. They don’t come much better than this!
(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
The Natte Valleij wines are imported exclusively into the UK by Museum Wines and the single vineyard Cinsault reds retail for circa £27pb.
Greg Sherwood MW 