Winemaker Notes
2019 is one of their best vintages of Mullineux Syrah to date. Since the great drought in the Western Cape which started in 2014, the vines had beautifully adapted, resulting inwines with superb complexity and an incredibly balanced intensity. This Swartland Syrah has a classic perfume of wild-growing white Watsonia Lilies, fresh mulberries and black olive pips. The structured palate follows through with intricate layers of kumquats, dark plums, sour cherry and star anise and finishes with powerful and velvety tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Vast stores of plum-pie flavors hide underneath this wine’s florality and grippy grape-skin tannins. Its backbone of acidity keeps it feeling fresh as it lasts on that black-fruit power.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Beginning with a red-fruited core with dusty floral aromas, the 2019 Syrah offers notes of red and black spice in the glass. Medium to full-bodied, the wine envelops the palate with fresh and succulent tannins before showing impressive focus across the mid-palate. The Syrah concludes with a fine, firm and delightful mineral tension on the finish that fades with a food-friendly, tannic grip. Rating: 91+
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Literally meaning "the black land," Swartland takes its name from the endangered, indigenous "renosterbos" (translating to rhino bush), which used to be plentiful enough to turn the entire landscape a dark color certain during times of year. The district, attracting some of the most adventurous and least interventionist winemakers, excels in robust and full-bodied reds as well as quality fortified wines.