Newsletter
DECEMBER 2012
We completed a tricky 2012 harvest, released two special Single-Terroir Granite and Schist Syrahs, launched a Wine-Club, fanatically fine tuned our 26 vineyard parcels, and have traveled about selling bottled Swartland to the world.
Thanks to all of you who have supported us!
To keep right up-to-date, you can follow us on Twitter (@mullineuxwines) or visit our Facebook Page
Press and Flying High!
It has been another great year for our little Family Winery. For the second year in a row we received 5 Stars for 3 of our wines in the Platter’s Guide – this time for our 2011 Straw Wine, 2010 Syrah, and 2010 Schist Syrah.
On top of this, our 2010 Syrah was also awarded Red Wine of the Year by Platter’s and called “an Icon in the making” – great appreciation for all the hard work that goes into this wine!
Andrea, Chris and Chris’s Beard at the Platter’s Launch:
We were al
so included in the Mail and Guardian’s List of Top 20 wineries in South Africa in 2012, an incredible achievement for such a young winery.
We’ve now sold out of the Granite and Schist Syrahs, but we still have stock of our other wines and they can be Purchased Here.
Other exciting news is all 3 of our Mullineux Family Range – our White Blend, Syrah and Straw Wine are currently being served on British Airways First Class between London and South Africa.
This is the first time a single winery has 3 wines on First Class at the same time!
Wine Club
In April this year we launched the Mullineux Wine Club which is seeing a steady growth. For those of you who are already members, we hope you are enjoying the selection of exclusive and interesting wines and the discounts the Club brings.
The current shipment includes a delicious Cinsault and a completely Natural Chenin Blanc (nothing whatsoever added and bottled with no sulphur!).
For those who have not yet joined, the Wine Club is a way to get first access to new releases, special Wine Club bottlings, and of course wonderful discounts.
Visit The Wine-Club Page on our Website for more info and a sign-up form. The first shipment in 2013 (in April) will include a fine Mourvedre and a refreshing Clairette Blanche.
Swartland Revolution
The 3rd Edition of the incredibly popular Swartland Revolution was a raging success. Here’s the story in Pics http://www.theswartlandrevolution.com. We have already started plans for 2013, so save the date… 8th and 9th November 2013 and mail bookfortherevolution@gmail.com to have your name added to the mail list for when tickets go on sale.
Vineyards
Probably best news of the year is after 3 very dry years, we finally had a proper wet winter in the Swartland, and our growers look forward to a Goldilocks Vintage of great quality and decent yields.
We have spent a lot of time in the vineyards the past 5 years, and it is rewarding to see how good they look!
Visit us this Festive Season
If you are visiting the Cape over the festive season, come and see us in our Cellar in the heart of Riebeek Kasteel! Click Here for Directions.
As always, we are open on Saturdays from 10am to 4pm, and Mondays to Friday by appointment. Call Nicola on 083 518 4185.
We will be closed from 23rd to 26th December and 30 December to 4th January.
Happy holidays Everybody (and for those keen to cook something different this Holiday, find a recipe from Andrea’s Kitchen below).
Chris, Andrea and the Team at MFW
OCTOBER 2011
A Full House of Platter’s 5 Stars for Mullineux Family Wines !
The much anticipated list of 5 star wines in the upcoming 2012 Platter’s South African Wine Guide was announced at the Wines of South Africa Cape Wine Europe tasting in London today.
The Platter’s Guide is widely recognised as the most authoritative and comprehensive guide to the world of South African wine, and this year more than seven thousand wines were tasted. One hundred and thirty nine wines were nominated for the coveted five star rating, with only forty five wines being awarded this top honour.
We are proud to announce that this year all three of our signature wines received five star recognition by Platter‘s !
2010 Mullineux White
2009 Mullineux Syrah
2010 Mullineux Straw Wine
This Platter’s success continues a great year in reviews for us, as it follows the recent high praise from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. This American based publication is an independent consumer’s guide to fine wine, and the ratings are widely regarded as the most influential in the world of wine. Our 2010 Mullineux White scored 91 points, our 2009 Mullineux Syrah 92 and our Mullineux Straw Wine 94 points.
We are grateful and humbled with the recognition our wines have received thus far. That such a small and new winery focused on elegance and refinement, should obtain 5 stars for all 3 of our signature wines is truly an amazing achievement. We adopt a minimalist approach to wine making and focus upon expression of the Swartland’s special terroir. This acknowledgement is not only great for us, but also for the entire Swartland region, a place we are passionate about.
We will be releasing a limited edition Mullineux branded wooden box containing the 3 Five Starr wines (for delivery in South Africa only).
Price (including VAT and Delivery):
Western Cape R750
Rest of South Africa R850
For enquiries contact Nicola at info@mullineuxwines.com
Our cellar and tasting room are situated in the charming village of Riebeek Kasteel, roughly 1 hour from Stellenbosch or Cape Town.
Opening Hours:
Saturday 10am to 3pm or otherwise by appointment.
Email: info@mullineuxwines.com
Telephone 27 (0) 22 4481183
Address: Short Street, Riebeek Kasteel,7307 (opposite the Royal Hotel in Main Road, Riebeek Kasteel)
Click Here to Order our Wines
Click Here for a List of Distributors in your Country
Click Here for a List of Stockists in South Africa and the UK
SPRING 2011:
GREAT NEWS IN THE WINE ADVOCATE!
We were proud this week to be included in Neal Martin’s first ever serious review of South African Wines for Robert Parker’s THE WINE ADVOCATE – essentially the most respected Wine Publication in the world. Our Mullineux range performed exceptionally well – all rating “Outstanding” as follows:
2010 White Blend 91/100 “exquisite… racy… a superb Chenin Blanc blend”
2009 Syrah 92/100 “classic in style, reserved but ambitious”
2010 Straw Wine 94/100 “a ravishing straw wine and completely irresistable”
Our value for money (Retailing for below ZAR80 and US$20) Kloof Street wines punched well above their weight, with our Chenin scoring 88/100 and the Rouge 89/100 (both “Very Good”).
All the reviews have been posted on our Website Here.
TO ORDER ANY OF THESE LIMITED VOLUME WINES, email Nicola: nicola@mullineuxwines.com
CLICK HERE for a list of STOCKISTS in South Africa or DISTRIBUTORS in your Country.
TRAVEL & UPCOMING EVENTS
It’s a relatively quiet time of the year in the cellar, and pruning is now complete. As we wait for the vines to start growing in early spring we are about to depart for a few weeks to the warm northern Hemisphere.
We will be doing some trade visits with Springboard Wine Company, our distributor in California, including a wine dinner at the fantastic Wood Tavern in Oakland on the 26th September. For those in the San Francisco area contact Farmstead Cheeses and Wines at 510 864 9463 for reservations.
As we are now selling wine at the LCBO, Chris will then be off to Toronto to work with our importer Lifford Wine Agency.
He will then head to London to spend some time with customers and attend the WOSA Cape Wine Experience in Earls Court, London on the 11th and 12th October. This show is open to the Trade during the daytime, and the public in the evening. For tickets, click here.
Final stop will be Hamburg and Celle in Germany presenting tastings with our importer Calostoga Wine. Visit their Website for details of the tastings.
Then we will head home to prepare for WineX Jhb (hope to see you Jozi Folk there!), and this year’s Highlight – the Swartland Revolution on the 11th & 12th November.
The festival promises to be a raging success once again, and we have a few suprises planned for those who attend!
Tickets for this year’s Revolution are limited and selling fast, so if you haven’t already we strongly recommend you BOOK YOURS NOW.
We look forward to seeing you at some of these events!
On a personal note, we are extremely proud to introduce our newest Family member, Philippa Mae Mullineux!
Philippa considerately timed her arrival between harvests, is healthy and giving us some solid sleep so we’ve completely fallen in Love with her!
Jz is enjoying being a big brother too, and can’t wait to show her his favorite hiding spots in the Winery.
DECEMBER 2010:
As 2010 draws to a close, we look back on what has been another busy, but extremely successful year for our small Family Winery.
We have settled into our own Cellar in the middle of Riebeek Kasteel, so please do pop in for a visit if you are able!
We have also spent the year fine-tuning our 21 vineyard parcels, and through our minimalist winemaking techniques, are making sure our wines continue expressing the special Granite, Schist, and Iron-rich terroirs we work with in the Swartland.
We have been fortunate to receive some superb press on the wines of our first couple of vintages. Highlights from the past year have been:
In the USA:
- On eRobertParker.com Neal Martin rating our White Blend 92 points and our Straw Wine 96 points – his highest ever rating for a South African Wine.
- The Wine Spectator rating our Syrah 90, our White Blend 92 and our Straw wine 93 points.
In the UK:
- Jamie Goode rating our Syrah 95 points.
- The Wine Gang rating our Syrah 91 and our White Blend 91 points.
- Jancis Robinson rating our Syrah 17/20, our White Blend 17,5/20 and our Straw Wine 18/20.
- Decanter placing us as one of the most exciting wineries to watch in South Africa, and rating our Syrah 18/20.
- Both Jancis Robinson and Tim Atkin including our wines in their Best of the Year lists.
And in South Africa:
- The Platter’s Wine Guide nominated both our White Blend and Straw Wine for 5 stars for the second year in a row, with all our Mullineux Wines eventually rating 4,5/5 Stars.
Not bad for a small family winery, from a sleepy town in the Swartland!
2011 Also saw the launch of our new Kloof Street range of wines, which offer incredible value for money, and the highly successful Swartland Revolution (www.theswartlandrevolution.com)… tickets for the 2011 event will go on sale soon!
As we become busier, we do not want to loose touch with our most important partner – you. To ensure we stay in touch, we are very excited to announce that we have recently employed Nicola Tipping as our Marketing Manager. Nicola comes with a brilliant energy, focus and pedigree, and she will be helping ensure you receive only the best serivice from us.
Nicola can be reached at nicola@mullineuxwines.com.
We have more exciting news coming early in the new year, but until then – We wish you and your Family all the best over the festive season, and look forward to sharing our wines with you in 2011!
Cheers!
Chris, Andrea, Keith, Peter, jz, and Nicola
