News from the vineyards and cellar
We are still in what has turned out to be a beautifully cold and wet winter. Stunning for the vines to have the rest and accumulate enough cold units for them to come out of their slumber. The soil profiles are now full of moisture and the vines are just waiting for the warmer and slightly longer days so they can begin the next cycle in the winegrowing process.
In the cellar we have recently been busy with the making up of the 2021 white wine blends which are looking absolutely stunning from a vintage which appears to be one particularly good for the whites. The 2021 Chapter’s white wines and Saskia are all back in barrel continuing to age and integrate whilst the 2021 The Introduction Chenin blanc has recently been bottled, maturing a little before its release in spring.
We have also recently blended all the 2020 red wines and these are now back in barrel maturing further before bottling which will be coming up later in the year. These are looking great with amazing expression of fruit and beautifully elegant tannins.
A new addition to the family!
We are releasing a new wine in the family range. Perhaps a bit overdue but without a doubt necessary.
Tony’s Cape Vintage Reserve 2019
This wine has been produced in memory of my late father, Tony Mossop.
He was a true wine lover and enthusiast, a legend in the South African industry, a wine writer, a Cape Wine Master, a phenomenal taster and wine judge, a winemaker of fortified wines and a great father.
He introduced me to wine from a relatively young age and was definitely my inspiration for entering the wine industry.
Tony and his wife Lyn started a small vineyard and winery in Calitzdorp in the Klein Karoo, the home of “Port style” wines in South Africa, specifically for the production of an outstanding “Port style” wine. The farm was named Axehill after the discovery of many stone-age hand tools in the vineyard when being prepared for planting. It was initially produced from Touriga Nacional and Tinta Barocca and in later vintages Souzao was added to the blend. Produced in a very traditional style with foot treading, pressing in a small basket press and aged in larger 500L barrels. The first vintage to be released was the 1997. This wine over the years became one of the Platter’s Guide’s most consistent wines to be awarded the prestigious 5 star rating multiple times.
My father’s last vintage in making the Axehill wines was in 2005, which was the year he passed away. I bottled this vintage and it fittingly received a 5 star rating in Platter’s.
In honour of him I decided to produce a fortified wine from one of the traditional Port varieties, the king of Port grapes, Touriga Nacional. The variety is renowned for its amazing fruit expression, acidity and fantastic tannin concentration which provides the longevity to this style of wines.
The fruit for this wine originated from a vineyard in the Faure district of Stellenbosch, grown on decomposed granite soils with a high gravel content. This part of Stellenbosch has become famous over many decades for the production of many of South Africa’s greatest “Port style” wines.
The wine was made in a traditional style with fermentation in small bins, a long cold soak period after crushing before fermentation with regular punch-downs and some foot treading to maximise the extraction. Once the fermentation started naturally there was continued regular punch-downs until the perfect balance of sugar and alcohol was achieved. At this stage the must was fortified on the skins to halt the fermentation. The wine was pressed off the skins the following day into a 500L old French oak barrel for maturation for 20 months before being bottled without fining or filtration.
A perfect wine on these cold winter nights to be enjoyed alongside the fire or with a selection of mature hard cheeses and preserves.
The wine has a residual sugar level of 80 gm/L and an alcohol of 19% by Vol.
Only 1340 375ml bottles were produced.
Exclusive offer
As part of the MILES MOSSOP WINES FAMILY we are offering you this new addition to our range of wines along with any of or other wines in our portfolio at a fantastic 15% off the purchase price for purchases in multiples of 6 bottles with free delivery to anywhere in South Africa for purchases over R1500.00. This exclusive offer is valid and available until 20 August 2021.
Please make sure to use the discount code TONYSCVR to redeem your discount when making the purchase on our website milesmossopwines.com
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Cheers,
Miles Mossop
