Mullineux White Blend 2012 is made from 65% Chenin Blanc, 26% Clairette Blanche, 9% Viognier.

Reviews:

"Based on 80-year-old Chenin Blanc (with Clairette and Viognier for support), this barrel fermented blend almost tastes slightly sweet, such is its high glycerol level. Silky, refined, honey, apple and apricot flavours, with a hint of vanilla spice, tangy acidity and effortless complexity. Drink: 2014-20"- Tim Atkin Master Wine (August 2014), 95 pts

The 2012 White Blend is comprised of 76% Chenin Blanc, 16% Clairette Blanche and 8% Viognier, the first two whole bunch pressed and aged for 11 months in used oak and one 2,000-liter foudre. It has a slightly muted bouquet at first, with dried pineapple, apricot and a touch of wax resin that becomes more pronounced with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with a lovely, waxy opening. Chris and Andrea have fashioned a Chenin that is a more textural experience than one offering conspicuous flavors. It has great precision toward the finish with touches of hazelnut and grilled almond. A case of “less is more.” Excellent – and quite cerebral. Drink now-2020.Wine Advocate #209 Oct 2013 91 Points
 

Neal Martin of Parker's Wine Advocate on Mullineux:

Having followed Chris and Andre Mullineux’s ascendency from their days working at Tulbagh Mountain Vineyard (see Fable), through their maiden vintage in 2008 to the present, there is something almost inevitable about their fairy tale story. It was just meant to be. Spearheading the Swartland revolution alongside Eben Sadie, Adi Badenhorst et al., their wines have raised the benchmark of what wine-lovers should expect from both Mullineux and Swartland itself. And that is not just good fortune, but rather hours and hours of hard work, with Chris out in the vineyards and Andrea in the winery. The fact that they still have to rent a winery in the town of Riebeek Kasteel makes it even more remarkable – this is no case of chucking wads of cash to ensure quality (which does not necessarily work anyway.) In essence, the challenges that they have faced seem to drive them forward, inevitably toward single vineyard bottlings that debuted with the 2010 Schist and Granite Syrahs, and hopefully toward their own winemaking facilities in the near future. Their Kloof Street white and red offer a wallet-friendly introduction to their wines, although I would not hesitate in spending a few more dollars on their White and Red Blend or if you can get your hands on one of the 99 cases produced, their Schist and Granite Syrahs. On this point, I asked Chris for some background on these wines “The winemaking is pretty similar, and for us the main difference is the soils, and specifically the moisture holding capacity of them. The schist soils are very rocky, shallow and steep, so any excess water tends to run off while the decomposed granite soils are much deeper, with a layer of clay about 2 meters below the surface that holds moisture. As a result the vines grown in the schist soils tend to struggle more and have more open canopies, smaller bunches and berries with thicker skins. The wines tend to be more dense and structured. Vines grown in Swartland’s decomposed granite have a slightly easier time as they have more moisture in the subsoil, so the canopies are larger with more shade and the bunches and berries are larger with thinner skins. The wines, therefore, tend to be more floral and perfumed (from the extra shade), and fresher.” I asked Chris whether there were any significant differences between the recent vintages. “There was not much to differentiate 2010 and 2011. Both were good vintages in the Swartland: relatively dry winters and cool summers without any major heat waves before we harvested. There were some heat waves after we harvested in 2011, and this compounded with the two preceding dry winters had more of an impact on vintages 2012 (very uneven ripeness) and 2013 (some vineyards with low acidities).” Mullineux epitomize elegant, terroir-driven, traditionally tailored wines that deliver nuanced scents and flavors while rarely treading over 13.5% alcohol. They do not shortchange wine-lovers on flavor, yet at the heart of their best blends there is an intellectual aspect that leaves you wanting more. If you have not discovered Mullineux yet – what are you waiting for?

"The Swartland is blessed with an abundance of old vine Chenin, and we use this as the backbone of our white blend. We then add several small parcels of Mediterranean varieties for complexity, balance and aromatic lift."

Source of Grapes: Grapes for our 2011 white blend come from five vineyard parcels in different parts of the Swartland: One parcel of 32 year-old Chenin blanc planted in the stony Shale and Schist based soils
of Riebeek Kasteel Mountain; two parcels of 40+ year-old dry land, bush vine Chenin, and Clairette blanche, grown in the decomposed Granite of the Paardeberg mountain; and a parcel of 11 year-old Viognier planted on the rolling, iron-rich soils west of Malmesbury. We lease each parcel on a long term basis, and have close and direct involvement in their viticultural management.


Winemaking: Hand-picked grapes are cooled in our cold room, where after the Voignier is destemmed directly to tank, and macerated on the skins for 4 to 5 days before pressing. The Chenin, and Clairette, are pressed whole-bunch, and the juice is allowed to settle overnight. 20ppm 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 6 weeks. The barrels are left without sulphur on its lees until spring. In this time the wine finished malolactic fermentation. The barrels are racked and blended just before the following vintage and bottled unfiltered.

Maturation: 11 months in older (3rd and 4th fill) French oak barrels, and one 2000L Foudre.

Tasting Note: Lemon-straw in color, this wine has a nose of crushed rocks, green citrus, cloves and a floral perfume. The palate is full, rich and has a mineral core, with a fresh, clove-like finish. Best served at 10 to 12 C, this wine will show optimally when decanted in the first 3 years after bottling.