Mullineux Single Terroir Granite Swartland Syrah 2023
The 'Granite' Syrah is the most perfumed and elegant of Mullineux's single terroir Syrahs. It has vivid aromas of violet, cranberry, cardamom seed and pepper spice. The palate has a tightly- wound core with angular tannins, supported by gentle oak integration. The finish is long and complex, complete with bright acidity and a granitic edge.
Grapes for this wine were sourced from a single parcel of sustainably-farmed, 24-year-old, dry farmed bush vines grown on the decomposed granite soils of the Paardeberg. These soils have a layer of clay below the surface and a deep root system, protecting the vines from the region’s dry conditions. The resulting vines have denser canopies, which offer more shade and produce wines with excellent freshness and perfumed aromatics.
The grapes were picked by hand during the cool early morning, after which the whole-bunches were put into open top 500L French oak barrels and foot-crushed. Indigenous fermentation began and punch-downs were only done by hand in order to ensure gentle extraction. A further four weeks of skin contact was given to highlight and refine the natural tannin structure of the granite soils, before being drained and pressed back to the same barrels for malolactic fermentation and maturation. The wine was matured for 12 months in French oak 500L barrels (50% new) followed by 10 months in2000-litre Foudre. It was further aged for nine months in bottle before its release.
Founded by Chris and Andrea Mullineux in 2007, Mullineux is one of the most lauded wineries in South Africa, having been named ‘Winery of the Year’ five times by the Platter Guide (in 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2023). Chris and Andrea chose the town of Riebeek-Kasteel, just west of Malmesbury in the Swartland, due to its old vineyards planted on granite and schist soils. They reasoned that, with such quality fruit, they could make outstanding wines. It is an understatement to say they have been proved right.
The Swartland is warm and dry in the summer, benefitting from a cooling afternoon breeze from the Atlantic Ocean, which borders the region to the West. Disease pressure is low, which, in turn, means spraying is kept to a minimum. The fashion for monoculture in the 1970s and 1980s bypassed the Swartland. As a result, most of the vineyards that Chris and Andrea own, or lease are planted with numerous native species like fynbos. These provide a home for native insects, which act as predators of other insects that can damage the vines. Again, this enables spraying to be kept to a minimum. Their estate vineyards are now in conversion to Regenerative Organic, a testament to their longstanding commitment to sustainable viticulture.
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