This bottle of Mullineux Old Vines White has a pale straw colour. Popping the bottle fills the air with ripe, green citrus fruit and Christmas spices. The palate is fresh and richly textured, with notes of ripe pears, almonds, and peaches, with a clove-like finish.

74% Chenin Blanc, 8% Clairette Blanche, 6% Grenache Blanc, 7% Viognier, 2% Semillon Gris, 2% Macabeo, 1% Verdelho.

The Swartland is blessed with an abundance of old vine Chenin and it is used as the backbone of the white blend. They’ve then added several small parcels of Mediterranean varieties for complexity, balance and aromatic lift. The grapes come from 9 sustainably farmed vineyard parcels in different parts of the Swartland – the stony Shale and Schist based soils of the Kasteelberg, the decomposed Granite and Paardeberg and the rolling, iron-rich hills west of Malmesbury.

Schist-based soils: Wine produced from schist-based soils tend to have blue fruit and earthy character. They are well structure with good acidity and form the backbone of any blend.

Granite soils: Wines from granite soils tend to be exceptionally pure with a granitic perfume and nervy acidity.

Iron-based soils: Vines grown in gravel & iron-based soils helps the vines build complexity and tannin in the grapes. Wines produced from these soils tend to be deep in colour and are very concentrated and bring loads of mid-palate to any blend.

As each parcel is harvested the grapes are chilled in our cold room. The grapes are then pressed whole-bunch and the juice is allowed to settle overnight. Minimal SO2 is added and, as with all our wines, no other additions are made. The juice is then racked to barrel for fermentation. Fermentation is with indigenous yeasts and lasts up to 8 weeks. The wine is left without additional sulphur on its lees until spring. During this time the wine finished malolactic fermentation. The barrels are racked and blended just before the following vintage and bottled unfiltered.