Mullineux and Leeu Passant: Swartland’s superstars
| Product Name | LCBO# | Region | Score | mL | $/btl. | Qty. Avail. | Qty |
| South Africa |
Leeu Passant Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Leeu Passant Cabernet Sauvignon 2021WO Stellenbosch 0024601 (XD) 14% Alc./Vol. 750 mL $52.00 TASTING NOTE : It's quite curious but one does not automatically think of the Mullineuxs when you mention Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon. But they have, over the past 5 years, slowly and fastidiously crafted one of the most respected expressions of Helderberg Cabernet Sauvignon produced in the Cape. This 2021 is another cool climate beauty that shows a delightfully perfumed aromatic spectrum of fresh violets, dried herbs, pressed rose petals and subtle hints of dried kelp, saline black currant, sweet cherry tobacco, cedar spice and delicate touches of iodine. This is a deliciously sumptuous wine with seamlessly contoured textural lines that would make a 1960's E-Type Jaguar jealous. The dark cassis laden fruits are plush and creamy with an underlying acid vivacity and salinity that really enliven the wine. Again, I drank this beautiful red wine over three nights and enjoyed it more and more as each day followed. That is not to say it wasn't utterly delicious on day one, but if you know Andrea's winemaking precision, she hides all sorts of secrets in her wines that are only really revealed after a couple of days open. This of course bodes particularly well for those patient enough to cellar these vinous gems for more than a few years. This 2021 displays a freshness and brilliance not often seen on Cabernet Sauvignon and is by far one of the most attractive vintages produced to date. Drink on release and over the next 20+ years. Score - 96+-. (gregsherwoodmw.com, June 21, 2023)
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0024601
| Stellenbosch | 96+- (GS) | 750 | $52.00 | 31 |
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Leeu Passant Chardonnay 2022
Leeu Passant Chardonnay 2022WO Stellenbosch 0024598 (XD) 14% Alc./Vol. 750 mL $89.00 TASTING NOTE : Grapes from a Helderberg site. Matured for 12 months in 225-litre barrels, a third new. Lemon, a pleasant nuttiness, freshly baked bread and a brush of vanilla on the nose. The palate shows great power and texture - a dense core of fruit to go with arresting acidity, the finish deeply savoury whith a certain chalkiness about it. Score - 96. (Christian Eedes, winemag.co.za, April 23, 2024)
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0024598
| Stellenbosch | 96 (WMZ) | 750 | $89.00 | 33 |
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Mullineux Granite Eikelaan Chenin Blanc 2022
Mullineux Granite Eikelaan Chenin Blanc 2022WO Swartland 0015648 (XD) 14% Alc./Vol. 750 mL $91.00 TASTING NOTE : Apple & citrus freshness on nose nicely concentrated with touches of pear, creamy oak on still-taut, well-structured palate, grapefruit bite on extensive finish. 2022 from Paardeberg grapes. Same winemaking for all chenins to showcase terroir & varietal expression: bunch pressed, fermented naturally/11 months in older barrique, unfiltered. Made for the long haul. Score - 97. (Platter's South African Wine Guide, 2024)
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0015648
| Swartland | 97 (PLAT) | 750 | $91.00 | 52 |
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Mullineux Granite Jakkalsfontein Syrah 2021
Mullineux Granite Jakkalsfontein Syrah 2021WO Swartland 0024593 (XD) 14% Alc./Vol. 750 mL $137.00 TASTING NOTE : Beautifully taut and tight knit with pinpoint aromatics of crushed granite, gravel, delicate violet and lily perfume, juniper berries and subtle broody black berry fruit notes. The minerality and sappy herbal spices bristle in the glass with an incredibly fine-grained palate with delicately drying, chalky, satin textured tannins that will ultimately come to define this incredible vintage and its astounding weightless focus, dry extract power, cool freshness and seductive finesse. This is a truly exceptional, awe inspiring creation that pushes new quality boundaries for tannin management and palate precision. Drink from 2024 to 2044+. Score - 98. (gregsherwoodmw.com, Nov. 30, 2023)
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0024593
| Swartland | 98 (GS) | 750 | $137.00 | 56 |
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Mullineux Iron Kasteelsig Syrah 2021
Mullineux Iron Kasteelsig Syrah 2021WO Swartland 0024597 (XD) 14% Alc./Vol. 750 mL $137.00 TASTING NOTE : Another incredibly intense, densely textured, finely crafted wine displaying a uniquely individual terroir personality of damp earth and iron from the koffeeklip soils, black liquorice and black olive tapenade with saline cassis and black berry, graphite and oyster shell nuances. The beauty and precision on the palate is spectacular and this is where you really get to witness the compact, dry extract density of the Iron vineyard combined with the cool, intense, highly finessed tannin structure of the 2021 vintage. This is a simply sublime composition of classical terroir-driven Syrah that really stops you in your tracts with its utter majesty and poise. Possibly the finest Iron Syrah produced since 2010. Drink from 2024 until 2044+. Score - 98. (gregsherwoodmw.com, Nov. 30, 2023)
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0024597
| Swartland | 98 (GS) | 750 | $137.00 | 45 |
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Mullineux Old Vines White 2022
Mullineux Old Vines White 2022WO Swartland 0556597 (XD) 13% Alc./Vol. 750 mL $39.00 TASTING NOTE : Mostly chenin (72%) in 2022, with clairette, grenache blanc, viognier, semillon gris & verdelho, flagship white since 2008. Generous stonefruit, apple blossom, quince & pear combine with harmonious silky oak, 20% new barrel & foudre, 11 months. Elegant, poised & precise. Unfiltered. Ageworthy. Score - 95. (Platter's South African Wine Guide, 2024)
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0556597
| Swartland | 95 (PLAT) | 750 | $39.00 | 152 |
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Mullineux Schist Roundstone Chenin Blanc 2022
Mullineux Schist Roundstone Chenin Blanc 2022WO Swartland 0024591 (XD) 14% Alc./Vol. 750 mL $91.00 TASTING NOTE : Vibrant & bright 2022 from bushvines on home-farm, producing smaller berries with higher skin:juice ratio, aiding tannin & texture. Lime, fennel, quince & fresh apple on finely balanced & layered palate. Excellent expression of terroir & craftsmanship. Keep some for later drinking pleasure, as with 2021. Score - 97. (Platter's South African Wine Guide, 2024)
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0024591
| Swartland | 97 (PLAT) | 750 | $91.00 | 11 |
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Mullineux Schist Roundstone Syrah 2021
Mullineux Schist Roundstone Syrah 2021WO Swartland 0024594 (XD) 14% Alc./Vol. 750 mL $137.00 TASTING NOTE : Grapes from the Mullineux's own property. Already reviewed as part of a 2010 - 2021 vertical tasting... The presence of this wine is what impresses - great fruit weight, bright acidity and chalky tannins, the finish deeply savoury. A wine of great sophistication. Alc: 13.5% Score - 98. (Christian Eedes, winemag.co.za, Aug. 13, 2023)
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0024594
| Swartland | 98 (WMZ) | 750 | $137.00 | 57 |
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Mullineux Straw Wine 2023
Mullineux Straw Wine 2023WO Swartland 0024589 (S) 8% Alc./Vol. 375 mL $56.00 TASTING NOTE : The 2023 Straw Wine comes from the same vineyard as usual, harvested from 45-year-old vines that produce high acidities. It underwent no malo due to the high natural concentration of malic acid during the four-week drying process on the farm. This has 335g/l residual sugar with a crucial 11g/l acidity. The bouquet is enticingly intense and beautifully defined, oozing with wild honey, quince and Clementine. The palate is impeccably balanced with a killer line of acidity that slices through the tangy honeyed fruit. Almost crystalline on the finish, it lingers long in the mouth with amazing purity. Drinking window: 2024-2055. Score - 97. (Neal Martin, vinous.com, Sept. 19, 2024)
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0024589
| Swartland | 97 (VIN) | 375 | $56.00 | 0 |
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Mullineux Syrah 2020
Mullineux Syrah 2020WO Swartland 0024586 (XD) 14% Alc./Vol. 750 mL $46.00 TASTING NOTE : Expression of the Swartland, blending the 3 soil types featured in the Terroir range. 2020 90% wholebunch pressed, naturally fermented/11 months each in 500L barrels, 20% new, 2,000/5000L foudre. More expressive & complex than 2019, fragrant violet, wild berries, coriander & exotic spice. Supple & multi-layered, hint of white pepper on finish. Will age well. Also in 1.5L, as White. Score - 95. (Platter's South African Wine Guide, 2023)
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0024586
| Swartland | 95 (PLAT) | 750 | $46.00 | 227 |
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Mullineux Syrah 2021
Mullineux Syrah 2021WO Swartland 0030516 (XD) 14% Alc./Vol. 1500 mL $99.00 TASTING NOTE : Expression of the Swartland, blending the 3 soil types featured in the Single Terroir range. 2021 90% bunch pressed, naturally fermented/11 months each in 500L barrels, 20% new, year in 2,000/5,000L foudre. Expansive & expressive, with intense depth of black fruit, perfumed violet, dried herbs & exotic spice. Well structured, complex, built to last. Also in 1.5L, as White. Score - 95. (Platter's South African Wine Guide, 2024)
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0030516
| Swartland | 95 (PLAT) | 1500 | $99.00 | 2 |
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