Mullineux 2023 Single-Terroir Chenin Blanc Mixed Case

This old-vine, dry-farmed chenin blanc from the granitic soils of the Paardeberg comes from the Eikelaan farm, from a vineyard known as Sky – widely considered one of the ‘grand cru’ chenin sites in the Swartland by growers and critics alike. This is as stony and salty and mineral as ever, but in fact not as pent-up and nervously tense as it can be at times and in some vintages. Displaying bright, pure flavours of citrus and just-ripe white peach, there is also a whisper of orange oil and bergamot here. Long, linear and focused, with lots of moreish salinity on the finish, this is a cracker of a Swartland granite chenin.

Iron, from red ‘Koffieklip’ clay soils which hold onto moisture through the spring, is always the first to be harvested of the Single Terroir chenins, and often offers up a more savoury, earthy expression. It has a looser texture and fuller body to Granite, with a fine, lacy tannin presence (having the highest natural extract of the three) and a silky mouthfeel this vintage (sometimes it can be more grippy). If Granite is vertical, then Iron is horizontal – carrying more breadth, along with flavours of salted pear and green mango.

From the Mullineux home farm, Roundstone. The chenin blanc that grows on the schist here has smaller bunches and smaller berries than its Granite and Iron counterparts, and a more golden colour to the grapes on ripening. The 2023 is incredibly expressive and open, exuding dried-herb and honeysuckle perfume, yellow peach, orange citrus and hay. This is such a characterful Schist, brimming with detail and salty minerality, and occupying a space between Granite and Iron – in terms of balancing verticality and linear tension with breadth. As is so often the case, it is the earliest approachable of the trio of chenins this vintage.