Mullineux - Straw Wine 2020 (375ml)

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Producer	Mullineux
Country	South Africa
Region	Western Cape
Subregion	Swartland
Varietal	Chenin Blanc
Vintage	2020
Sku	1803

The secret to our Straw Wine is harvesting Chenin grapes at normal ripeness levels to capture a healthy acidity.  The grapes are dried outside in the shade until they are half raisined, concentrating flavours, acidity and sugar into a super intense, but balanced treat. Fermentation is in old French barrels with indigenous yeasts and can last up to a year.  The wine is bottled unfiltered and unfined.

The 2020 Straw Wine has a typically gorgeous bouquet of dried honey, quince, tangerine and touches of candle wax, displaying the usual wonderful delineation and freshness. The palate is extremely well balanced with a killer line of acidity that cuts a swath through the rich honeyed fruit. Notes of tangerine, peach and mango appear toward the finish. Irresistible.

Medium gold in the glass, the 2020 Straw Wine opens to a gorgeous, honeyed and sweet citrusy nose that exudes power, elegance and precision. Aromas of quince paste, apple cider reduction and sappy honeysuckle flowers waft from the glass with a kiss of volatility and notions of candied Meyer lemon and raw honeycomb. Medium to full-bodied and with only 7.5% alcohol, the weight of this wine is impressive—it is mouth-coating with a generous lusciousness and sweetness yet still possesses the laser-beam acidity of Chenin Blanc. The wine continues to evolve on the palate as it unpacks and unfolds its secrets over the somersaulting and seemingly never-ending finish. Bravo! I know that the majority of the world tends to think of France's Loire Valley when it comes to Chenin Blanc, but with expressions like this from South Africa, the world will wake up one day and realize just how important and significant this variety is to South Africa and what potential it has in capable hands. This wine has me thinking. It's so unique and tastes as if Quarts de Chaume from Loire and Vendange Tardive from Alsace were to collide.