Leeu Passant Stellenbosch Dry Red Wine 2018

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Leeu Passant Stellenbosch Dry Red Wine

Region: Stellenbosch, Coastal Region, South Africa

Vintage: 2018

Bottle size: 75cl

Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Cinsault

ABV: 14%

The nose features notes of bergamot orange, blackcurrant, flowers, and bramble fruit. On the palate, firm tannins and a balanced, long finish.

This flagship cuvée from Leeu Passant is a heritage blend drawn from some of South Africa’s oldest registered vineyards. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are sourced from mid-slope sites on the iron-rich sandstone soils of the Helderberg Mountain in Stellenbosch. The Cinsault comes from a single vineyard planted in 1900 in Wellington, the country’s oldest registered red wine vineyard, comprising dry-farmed bush vines rooted in deep sandy alluvial soils.

The Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are destemmed into tanks, while the Cinsault is vinified as 100% whole bunch and gently crushed. Fermentation with indigenous yeast occurs with careful cap management adapted to each wine through gentle punch downs and pump overs. Following an extended maceration period, the wines are drained and pressed to barrel and racked during winter, before being carefully blended. Finally, they are transferred to 500L French oak barrels (33% new) for 11 months. The wine is then blended into seasoned 2000L foudres for a further 11 months before bottling.

Founded in 2013, the Leeu Passant wines are a partnership between Analjit Singh of Leeu Estates hotels and Chris and Andrea Mullineux. Analjit visited South Africa for the first time in 2010 for the FIFA World Cup, fell in love with the winemaking culture in Franschhoek and never left. He subsequently bought into Mullineux and appointed Chris and Andrea as winemakers for his winemaking project Leeu Passant. In doing so, the Mullineuxs were able to work with remarkable old vines in Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and other regions beyond Swartland. Chris explains, “Rosa Kruger, our viticulturist, had for years been enthusing to us about various parcels of fruit, but as they were outside the Swartland, we couldn’t use them in Mullineux.”

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