2016 Mullineux Straw Wine
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Tasting notes
The Mullineux Straw Wine is made from Chenin Blanc that is picked at normal ripeness, before the grapes are dried on mats in the shade until they are half-raisined. The fruit is sourced from two sites, one where the fruit is grown on schist, the other where it is grown on granite. The dried berries often take up to two days to press and yield between 100- to -200-litres of juice per tonne. Fermentation takes place in neutral, old French barrels with indigenous yeasts, lasting 9 to 12 months. (Katherine Dart MW) The 2015 was shown recently by Handford Wines. Rich apricot purée. Beautiful balance and a freshness that’s reminiscent of Tokaji but it’s more accessible, more immediately fruity. (JR)
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Jancis Robinson MW
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate
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The 2016 Straw Wine was slightly deeper in color compared to the 2015. Because of the drought, the berries were smaller and skins thicker, leading to more concentration, although there is still just 8% alcohol. It has a complex bouquet, perhaps more so than the 2015 with a subtle waxy/resinous note that underlies the honeyed aromas, hints of apricot and marmalade emerging with time. The palate is beautifully balanced with superb tension and vibrancy, the acidity outstanding (it would be piercing were it not for the 366 grams per liter of residual sugar). There is plenty of energy here, an orgiastic straw wine that lacquers on the seductive honeyed notes, with a more phenolic finish than the 2015 that lends the intellectual slant, if you are not totally seduced. This is one of the best straw wines that the Mullineuxs have produced.
About the producer
Chris and Andrea Mullineux were at the forefront of South Africa’s new-wave movement and are now one of the country’s most established names. Alongside the Swartland project that made their name, they make wines in Franschhoek under the Leeu Passant name – a tribute to South Africa’s vinous past.