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00:00 – INTRO

00:19 – WHO IS MILES MOSSOP?

01:00 – MILES MOSSOP LEAVES THE SHIRE

01:57 – WHAT DOES THE MILES MOSSOP INTRODUCTION CHENIN TASTE LIKE?

03:26 – 10 YEARS OF CHENIN BLANC WITH MILES MOSSOP

03:48 – DETAILS ON THE WINEMAKING

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Miles Mossop is something of an over-achiever. He finished top of his class during his Viticulture and Oenology degree at the University of Stellenbosch; but not before FIRST getting a degree in geology and geochemistry. He was winemaker at Tokara for almost 20 years, taking the brand to a position of international acclaim, before going solo and managing to earn a rather rare 99 points for the 2017 vintage of his “Sam” Cabernet Sauvignon from British Wine Critic Tim Atkin. Even in his down time, he has volunteered as vie-chair, and eventually chairman of the Cape Winemakers’ Guild. It’s hard to keep up.

His eponymous solo range of wines just continues to impress across multiple genres. As mentioned, his Sam scored 99 pts a few years back, and in 2022, his “Max” Bordeaux blend got a Platter 5-star  award, as did his late harvest “Kika”. And while Stellenbosch fruit seems to be what Miles is most comfortable with, he also produces a Swartland Cinsaut called “Chapter ONE”, which is one of the all time favourite Cinsauts at HanDrinksSolo HQ.

Now most of the Miles’s wines are relegated to the category of “fine art” or “high culture”, and he has perpetuated this impression by releasing a range of wines called “The Chapters”; embracing a literature theme. But in the background, he has been working very hard on developing an introductory range to allow fans to experience his work without spending R300 and upwards per bottle. And so it is that the “Introduction” range exists as a preface to the CHAPTERS range.

Today we’re exploring the Miles Mossop Introduction Chenin Blanc, but you have yet to sign up for your Monthly HanDrinksSolo Wine Subscription then you’ll have to hunt this wine down in your own time, and make do with my tasting notes and and a little it of imagination.

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👃🏼 A lovely open nose of peaches, and sea spray, and honeysuckle and apricot.

👄 The palate is fresh and vibrant, with a dominant apricot and white peach fruit core. The addition of the slight saltiness, and a snap of grapefruit on the finish, makes this a fairly classic South Africa Chenin Blanc.

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Grapes are sourced from two parcels of unirrigated bush vines; one in the Swartland, and the other in Stellenbosch. Grapes are pressed as whole bunches, and settled over night, before being racked into old barrels and concrete eggs, where spontaneous fermentation commenced. The slow rolling fermentation took about three weeks, after which time the wine was matured in older 400l barrels, as well as in a concrete egg.

21400 bottles produced.