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Leeu Passant Dry Red 2017

Tasting Notes

Winery: Mullineux
Varietal: Red Blend
SKU: LEEDRYRED2017 Categories: ,
Bottle Size: 750 ml
Mullineux Kloof Street Swartland Rouge 2020

$109.99

Awards/Reviews

94 pts Wine Enthusiast Sept 2021

A blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Cinsault and 18% Cabernet Franc, there’s an immediate draw to this wine’s bouquet. A complex mix of fresh, snappy black cherry, cassis and plum is partnered with purple floral tones of pressed violet and carnation, all hit by licorice, clove and rooibos dust. The palate is like crushed satin, with ripe fruit flavors that are perfectly framed by fine yet supportive and structuring tannins that carry it all through to the enduring finish. It comes across more red fruited than black on the palate, with lingering notes of church incense and sweet spice on the back of the close. So lovely and layered, it’s hard to pass up now but this should mature well through 2033.

4 ½ Stars 2020 Platter’s South African Wine Guide

Intended as ‘deconstruction/reconstruction of venerable Cape wines of the past’, hence cab & cinsault (56/26), with cab franc supplying leafy top note in 17 (93 pts). Intense berry & plum aromas & flavours, fine tannin/acid structure for decade-plus ageing. Dryland vineyards, some up to 119 years old. Natural ferment, as all. WO W Cape

Winemaker Notes

From one parcel of 38 year old dry farmed bush vine Cabernet Sauvignon planted in deep alluvial soils of Stellenbosch; one 117 year old dry farmed bush vine Cinsault vineyard (South Africa’s oldest registered Red Wine Vineyard) planted in deep sandy alluvial soils in Wellington; one parcel of 95 year old (SA’s 2nd oldest registered Red Wine Vineyard) dry farmed bush vine Cinsault planted on the lower eastern slopes of Franschhoek mountains; and a parcel of high altitude Cabernet Franc planted on the mid slopes of the Helderberg mountain in Stellenbosch.

Grapes are cooled in our cold room then destemmed into tank. The final blend is with 50% whole clusters. Minimal sulphur is added, and no further additions are made. The must is initially pigeaged once a day. After about 4 days fermentation begins without inoculation and the wine is pigeaged twice a day. Temperatures are not allowed to exceed 28°C. Fermentation lasts from 7 to 10 days. After fermentation, a couple of weeks skin contact is given, and the wine is then drained and pressed to barrel. The wines are racked and blended mid-way through the year and bottled after 20 months in barrel.

This medium to full-bodied wine has attractive aromas of mulberry leaves, cassis and cedar. These follow through on the palate which has a firm structure, grainy tannins, and hints of peppercorns and tobacco. The finish is dry, layered and long. Although surprisingly accessible now, this wine will greatly benefit from decanting if drunk within the first 3 to 5 years after bottling and will reward if cellared properly over the next few decades. Best served at 16-18°C.

This medium to full-bodied wine has attractive aromas of mulberry leaves, cassis and cedar. These follow through on the palate which has a firm structure, grainy tannins, and hints of peppercorns and tobacco. The finish is dry, layered and long. Although surprisingly accessible now, this wine will greatly benefit from decanting if drunk within the first 3 to 5 years after bottling and will reward if cellared properly over the next few decades. Best served at 16-18°C.

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