Ask anyone in the wine trade what the most exciting and dynamic country is at the moment and it’s a fair bet that the answer will be South Africa.  Old vineyards, ambitious young winemakers, innovation and fresh expertise are contriving to make some truly special wines that can compete with anything that the Old World can offer.  What has been most impressive about some of the South African wines that have graced the Farr Vintners tasting bench over the past year or so is not just the quality, but the level of character in the wines.

We were visited earlier this month by Chris Mullineux, one of the pioneers of the revolution that is now at full strength.  The winery was established in 2007 by Chris and his wife Andrea, who are now South Africa’s most accomplished winemaking couple, and a much-awarded one at that.  They were notably the first producer in the country to convince Neal Martin of the quality coming out of the Cape in the mid-2000s, when he was still firmly of the view that South African wine was in the post-apartheid doldrums.

The pinnacle of their range, and the wines we tasted, is their terroir series.  These wines focus on the intrinsic differences between three different soil types that the Swartland has to offer; granite, schist and iron.  All three wines are made identically, the differences in character and style are down only to the vineyards. The results couldn't be more unique, and it has been some time since we have tasted a selection of wines that is so impressively complete and correct in style.

We also tasted the Olerasay No. 5 Straw Wine.  This is a solera-based wine produced from low-yielding old bush vine Chenin Blanc. The bunches are hand harvested and air-dried for four weeks: a process that concentrates natural aromas, flavours, sugars and acidity. The bunches are then pressed slowly over several days onto 225 litre barrels, where the fermentation takes between eight and twelve months.  Some barrels are released as a vintage straw wine, with the remainder blended into the estate’s Solera system, which now comprises of all vintages from 2008 to 2024.  The resulting wine is nothing short of exceptional.