2021 Mullineux, Iron Syrah, Swartland, South Africa
Critics reviews
The 2021 Syrah Iron probably has the most nuanced bouquet - very cohesive with intense blackberry, blueberry and white pepper scents, the most backward of the three single vineyard sites. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiselled tannins and a keen thread of acidity, but real structure and density, layers of mineral-rich black fruit laced with black pepper and graphite towards the finish. Superb.
Drink 2025 - 2045
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (November 2023)
Bursting with a fresh and juicy nose, the 2021 Iron Syrah is ripe with red-fruited elements of dark cherry and spiced red plum before showing a delicate, rocky essence that sways with notes of turned earth and red peppercorn. Medium to full-bodied, the palate clamps down with firm tannins that grow across the gum line and will need some time but still serve as a testament that this beautiful Syrah has plenty of life left to give. Nicely done!
Drink 2025 - 2040
Anthony Mueller, Wine Advocate (December 2023)
There’s more of the savoury olive and peppercorn character here, with blackcurrants and grilled herbs too. Silky and very fine tannins, medium to full body, with a caressing, long and delicious finish.
Drink or hold
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (November 2023)
About this WINE
Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines
Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines is one of the stand-out producers in South Africa's budding Swartland region. Winemakers Chris and Andrea Mullineux’s ambition is to bottle wines that are a true expression of the Swartland, and all steps of their winemaking process are taken with this in mind. They work closely with a select group of growers who follow sustainable, reasoned farming practices, as well as owning vineyards at their Roundstone Farm in Riebeeksrivier.
In the cellar, apart from minimal amounts of sulphur, nothing is added to or removed from the wine. They do not make use of any yeasts, acids, tannins, enzymes, or fining and filtering agents. “Leeu” (Afrikaans for “lion”) was added to the name recently to recognise the contribution of a new investor to the project.
Apart from their wonderful Syrah, Chenin Blanc-based white blend and a super-rich Straw Wine made from air-dried Chenin Blanc, fermented and matured in old barriques, Mullineux now has a range of spectacular single-terroir Syrah and Chenin Blanc wines, each of which illustrates the amazing potential of the differing Swartland soils. Volumes of the single-vineyard wines are tiny, so availability is extremely limited.
Swartland
After Stellenbosch, the west coast district of Swartland (25 miles due north of Cape Town, between the towns of Malmesbury and Piketberg) now ranks as the Cape's most exciting wine-producing district.
Settled initially by nomadic Khoikhoi from Namibia, the Dutch brought trade and vines to the region in the 17th century. Viticulture was developed only more recently.This contrasts with an ancient geology which has brought a mix of shale, arenite sandstone and granite soils air-conditioned by the Atlantic Ocean nearby.
Chenin Blanc and Shiraz seem to do best, as exemplified by the wines of Eben Sadie and Mullineux.
Syrah/Shiraz
A noble black grape variety grown particularly in the Northern Rhône where it produces the great red wines of Hermitage, Cote Rôtie and Cornas, and in Australia where it produces wines of startling depth and intensity. Reasonably low yields are a crucial factor for quality as is picking at optimum ripeness. Its heartland, Hermitage and Côte Rôtie, consists of 270 hectares of steeply terraced vineyards producing wines that brim with pepper, spices, tar and black treacle when young. After 5-10 years they become smooth and velvety with pronounced fruit characteristics of damsons, raspberries, blackcurrants and loganberries.
It is now grown extensively in the Southern Rhône where it is blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre to produce the great red wines of Châteauneuf du Pape and Gigondas amongst others. Its spiritual home in Australia is the Barossa Valley, where there are plantings dating as far back as 1860. Australian Shiraz tends to be sweeter than its Northern Rhône counterpart and the best examples are redolent of new leather, dark chocolate, liquorice, and prunes and display a blackcurrant lusciousness.
South African producers such as Eben Sadie are now producing world- class Shiraz wines that represent astonishing value for money.
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Description
The 2021 Syrah Iron probably has the most nuanced bouquet - very cohesive with intense blackberry, blueberry and white pepper scents, the most backward of the three single vineyard sites. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiselled tannins and a keen thread of acidity, but real structure and density, layers of mineral-rich black fruit laced with black pepper and graphite towards the finish. Superb.
Drink 2025 - 2045
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (November 2023)
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