Critics reviews
Neal Martin - Wine Advocate #209 - Oct 2013
About this WINE
Miles Mossop Wines
Miles Mossop Wines burst onto the South African wine scene in 2004 when his first wines were made. He is winemaker at fellow Stellenbosch estate, Tokara, where he’s afforded the freedom to vinify 10 tonnes of bought-in grapes for his own label every year.
The aim here is to achieve wines with finesse and elegance but which still display aspects of power and fruit concentration, having great texture while maintaining balance.
Max is named after Miles’s son and is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and, more recently, Malbec. It is a truly handcrafted wine showing pure fruit expression and, more importantly, a sense of place.
Cabernet Sauvignon Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
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Description
This wine is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Petit Verdot, 21% Merlot and 8% Malbec. ll vineyards are unirrigated and produce low yielding fruit (4 to 6 t/ha) giving a pure expression of its environment. The grapes are ripened to peak maturity before being hand harvested. The nose has aromas of smoked meats, dark cherries and Christmas cake. There is a hint of roasted fennel bulb and five spice. The palate is full, rich, lingering and dry. It is mouth-filling and packed with flavors of dark cherries, plums, cassis and mulberries.
This blend offers ripe fruit flavors with a savory mid-palate of smoked meats, fennel bulb and roasted spices. The tannins are firm and dry which offers an exceptionally long finish. Serve with smoked meats, venison pie, beef fillet with a red wine sauce or an oxtail stew. The wine also pairs well with hard cheeses.
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