Mullineux Old Vines White 2022

Tasting Note: This complex wine is our signature expression of the old vines and ancient soils from the Swartland. During the growing season, the vines were exposed to some heat spikes, but cool evenings and very little precipitation, which resulted in a slow and gradual ripening period and beautifully concentrated berries. Upfront aromas of fresh stone fruit and lightly poached pear follow through to a complex palate with layers of yellow grapefruit and nectarines, a vibrant acidity and hints ginger and citrus-esque galangal on the finish.

Varieties: 72.4% Chenin Blanc, 6.4% Semillon Gris, 6.3% Clairette Blanche, 6.3% Grenache Blanc, 6.2% Viognier, 2.4% Verdelho

Bottling Date: 9 January 2022

Production: 32 160 bottles / 2 680 cases and 100 magnums

Wine of Origin: Swartland

Vineyard details: Our 2022 Mullineux Old Vines White continues the marriage of old vine Chenin Blanc with Mediterranean varieties planted on the Granite, Schist and Iron based soils of the Swartland. The incredible texture and backbone of the blend is brought by the low yielding old-vine Chenin Blanc, grown on all three of our focus soil types. The Clairette Blanche and Grenache Blanc add layers of salinity and freshness and its opulent fragrance is from the Viognier, Semillon Gris and Verdelho. These vineyards are up to sixty-eight years old, and all sustainably farmed.

Date(s) Harvested: The grapes were hand-harvested between the 20th January and 11th February with a yield of 2 to 5 tons/ha, which translated to an average of 30 hl/ha. Winemaking: Each vineyard for our 2022 Mullineux Old Vines White was carefully hand-harvested to respect the low juice-to-berry ratio inherent to the old vines. Once the cool grapes were oxidatively whole-bunch pressed, the juice was allowed to settle overnight. Indigenous yeast saw the wine through its primary fermentation that lasted up to nine weeks and any natural malolactic fermentation was allowed to take its course. The wine was left on its lees in barrel until spring to refine and build on the complex flavours of this signature ensemble. It was then racked after 11 months, left to settle for another 30 days and the final blend was bottled just before the 2023 harvest.

Maturation: This wine was aged for 11 months in 3rd to 5th fill French oak 500l barrels and one new 2000l Foudre.

This wine is best served at 10 to 12 °C and will benefit from ageing.

Technical Details at Bottling: Alcohol 13.40 % - RS 1.7 g/l - TA 5.50 g/l - pH 3.40