Mullineux and Lleu - Old Vines White - White 2023
Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines is a family-owned winery located near the village of Riebeek Kasteel in the Swartland region of South Africa . Founders and winemakers Chris and Andrea Mullineux have taken a natural approach to winemaking since the winery was founded in 2007, working with winemakers who approach farming with sustainable and natural methods. The winery company name was changed from Mullineux Family Wines in 2013 with further investment from Analjit Singh, adding ‘Leeu’, which means ‘Lion’ in Afrikaans. Mullineux’s wines are vinified with a minimalist approach. Apart from a small amount of sulphur, nothing is added or removed from their wines. The grapes are fermented with indigenous yeasts and macerated for approximately four to six weeks before being pressed directly into barrels. All Mullineux wines undergo malolactic fermentation and are aged in French oak barrels. When ready, they are bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Mullineux Vieilles Vignes Blanc 2023 is a blend of Chenin Blanc (62%), Clairette Blanche (13%), Sémillon Gris (10%), Grenache Blanc (8%), Viognier (5%) and Verdelho (2%) from several sustainably farmed vineyards with vines over 68 years old. Each vineyard was carefully hand-harvested to respect the low juice to berry ratio inherent in old vines. Once the fresh grapes were whole-cluster pressed with light oxidation, the juice was left to rest overnight. Indigenous yeast began the alcoholic fermentation which lasted up to 10 weeks and natural malolactic fermentation was allowed to run its course. The wine was left on its lees in barrels until spring. It was then racked after 11 months, left to rest for a further 30 days and the final blend was bottled just before the 2024 harvest. This wine was aged for 11 months in 3-5 fill 500 litre French oak barrels and two new 2,000 litre foudres .
Grape varieties: 62% Chenin Blanc, 13% Clairette Blanche, 10% Sémillon Gris, 8% Grenache Blanc, 5% Viognier, 2% Verdelho
