Two lovely South African wines recently enjoyed. The first, quite conventional: the 2012 vintage of the fabulous Mullineux Syrah. While I love their Granite and Schist bottlings (I haven’t yet tried the new Iron cuvee), this is the wine to go for. It’s lovely, and a comparative bargain compared with its expensive peers. The second is a quirky wine that I admire because of its bravery. Craig Hawkins is a vinous risk taker, and I really like his wines. It’s great that someone has the guts to leave a white wine on skins for two years. The result is unusual, but not undrinkable.

Mullineux Family Wines Syrah 2012 Swartland, South Africa
This is a beautifully balanced example of warm climate Syrah, showing fresh black cherry and plum fruit with lovely focused aromatics. There’s some pepper spice and a delicious savoury olive character alongside the sleek black fruits. A superb wine. 94/100

Testalonga El Bandito 2010 Swartland, South Africa
This is Craig Hawkins’ famous experiment where he left the wine on skins for two years. It’s lively and complex with orange peel, nuts and spice. Very grippy and tannic with some raisin notes. Astringent but with low acidity, this is a distinctive, complex, really interesting wine that’s just so hard to rate. Most people think that two years’ maceration was too long, but this is a wine that is worth trying. 92/100

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