Leeu Passant Old Vines Wellington Basson Cinsault 2022

Kleur: helder volrood
Geur: aromatisch, veel rood fruit: cranberries, kersen en frambozen, rozen, tijm, kruidig.
Smaak: sappig, fris, zuiver, rijp rood fruit, fijne structuur en zachte tannines
Houdbaar: op dronk, minimaal houdbaar tot eind 2032
Lekker bij: luxe BBQ, belegen kazen, lamsgerechten. kalkoen of parelhoen, Iets gekoeld drinken zo rond de 15 graden.

Tasting Note:
This highly fragrant wine has an alluring and complex nose suggesting rose petals, fresh cherries, cranberry and a hint of thyme. The palate is vibrant and silky in texture, with linear notes of cranberry, cloves and pink peppercorns. Very fine tannins give a beautiful structure to the wine. Best served at 16-18°C.

Source of Grapes:
From an historic parcel of dry farmed bush vine Cinsault planted in 1900 in deep sandy alluvial soils in Wellington. This is South Africa’s oldest registered red wine vineyard and we have had the privilege to farm and care for it since 2014. Yields: 3.2 tons/ha = 18 HL/ha

Winemaking:
To enhance the terroir and naturally austere tannins of this special and historic site, we transferred 100% crushed whole-clusters to tank with minimal sulphur. No further additions were made. The natural fermentation began without inoculation and the wine was pigeaged twice a day. Temperatures were kept cool as Cinsault is otherwise a fast fermenter, and the fermentation lasted for 11 days. After 3 weeks of extended maceration, the wine was drained and pressed to barrel. Racking and blending took place mid-way through the year and the wine was bottled after 20 months in barrel.

Maturation: 20 months in 500L French oak barrels, followed by a year in bottle

Robert Parker: 96/100
The Leeu Passant 2022 Wellington Cinsault comes from a 0.8-hectare vineyard on decomposed granite soils. Cinsault was the hero grape in South Africa with an important winemaking tradition. These ancient vines were planted at the very start of the 1900s. It took Andrea Mullineux years to get this unruly vineyard in shape. There are as many as 30 or 40 different rootstocks, so much so that Entav (the French national repository of grapevine clones) came to take samples. “We wanted to find the oldest vineyard in South Africa,” she says. This wine is not made under the family Mullineux brand (dedicated to Swartland wines) because these grapes are from Wellington. It shows a delicately perfumed quality that is neither reductive nor carbonic but is spicy and vertical nonetheless. The bouquet opens to wild rose, crème de cassis, cranberry and blue flower. It ages in 500-liter barrel for two years. This is a very special expression and one of the best Cinsaults you will encounter in your world wine travels. This grape, made by these deft hands, is reason enough to fall in love with South African wine.

Tim Atkin: 96/100
The oldest red wine vineyard in South Africa, planted in 1900, might not look like much from the road, but this 0.8-hectare parcel produces one of the best Cinsaults in the country.
Dense and concentrated, especially for a variety that tends to lightness, this has black cherry, redcurrant and tobacco leaf notes, sinewy tannins and a savoury finish. 2025-35