Winery of the year belies notions of Old vs New World

By Panos Kakaviatos for wine-chronicles.com

30 October 2015

As more and more wine geeks realize, the lines between “Old World” and “New World” are blurring.

I recall an Australian master class organized by Decanter a few years ago, with winemakers there talking about picking at 11 am rather than at 3 pm to retain freshness.

Last year, during intense coursework to complete my WSET level three exam, fellow students discovered blind how crisp and fresh wines from New Zealand and South Africa can be.

So it was with great pleasure that I accepted an invitation from Greg Sherwood, senior buyer at Handford Wines – a superb London wine shop, by the way – to taste some fine terroir driven wines from Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines in South Africa.

I enjoyed very much the Schist and Quartz Chenin Blancs that I tried, as they were crisp and flavorful, with long finishes.

Nicola Tipping hosted the tasting at the store, as she represents the winery and – just by chance – as we were tasting the wines, it was announced that Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines earned the winery of the year award  from the famous Platter’s Guide.

A famous five star rating, and you can see how happy both Sherwood and Tipping are in the photo.

As Sherwood posted on Facebook: “Life is all about timing” …

And it is about time that I visit South Africa!