Cabernet Sauvignon
Dry
Residual Sugar: 1.8 g/l
Full Bodied
750ml
13.5% alc./vol

Leeu Passant Cabernet Sauvignon Stellenbosch WO 2020

Stellenbosch, South Africa

95 Points - Wine Align - John Szabo, MS
93 Points - James Suckling

$58.00per bottle ($348.00per case)
6 bottles per case

Structured & Powerful

This product will be available to order as part of a special LCBO feature on September 13th. Please feel free to contact us at info@npwines.com if you need any assistance locating stock.

Leeu Passant is the Franschhoek Winery of Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines. The Leeu Passant wines are multi-regional bottlings inspired by the classic age-worthy wines of the Cape from the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. These were authentic wines unique to the culture, terroir, history and tastes of the Cape, and they strive to reflect these unique factors in their wines.

Stellenbosch is a natural home for Cabernet Sauvignon and this wine represents
the distinguished elegance and balance that the grape can exude there. The
vineyards are planted in the cooler parts of Stellenbosch - Firgrove; on the slopes
of the Helderberg Mountain and on the Polkadraai Hills. Using a combination of
modern and traditional wine making techniques, the fruit is completely
destemmed, naturally fermented and aged in 500L French oak barrels.

This classically aromatic & supple Cabernet Sauvignon invites with notes of mulberry, dried orange rind, Kapokbos and pencil shavings on the nose. The palate opens to mouth-quenching cassis and fresh Sapphire plum, which are cupped by elegant, silky tannins. The richness and power of this wine are balanced by beautiful freshness and finesse.

About the Winery

Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines

Mullineux Family Wines, established in 2007 in the Swartland region of South Africa, is owned and managed by Chris and Andrea Mullineux. Since its inception the winery has established itself as one of South Africa’s most celebrated wine brands, both locally and internationally. Originally from Northern California, Winemaker Andrea Mullineux studied Viticulture and Oenology at UC-Davis before working in Stellenbosch and meeting Chris at a wine festival in Champagne. Chris is the Viticulturist in charge of the vineyards on their farm on Kasteelberg Mountain as well as fruit sourcing for their value Kloof Street wines.

To add to their acclaim, Andrea Mullineux was named Wine Enthusiast’s Winemaker of the Year in 2016 and in 2016 Chris & Andrea were Tim Atkin’s South African Winemakers of the Year. . By focusing on producing handcrafted wines from the granite and shale based soils of the Swartland and it is quickly becoming South Africa's wine frontier. Located an hour's drive away from Stellenbosch, the Swartland is rolling hills of wheat and jagged outcrops of old vines.

Press Reviews

Wine Align - John Szabo, MS

95 Points

This cabernet is from the Helderberg, on the mid-slope facing, and about 4kms from, the ocean, a cool, late site, often picked into April with an ideal microclimate and soil depth, planted in 1980. The wine is inspired by the more classic graphite-gravelly styles of cabernet, aged in 500l barrels for the 1st year, the 2nd year in large 5000l vats. The nose offers high intensity aromatics, combining both the fresh, black fruit and herbal components of the variety with the wild garrigue (fynbos) of the Cape in a highly attractive ensemble. Firm, structured, taut and muscular on the palate, with uncommonly fresh acids, while tannins are chiseled, supported by those acids, leading through the long finish. A stellar wine to be revisited after 2025 at least, and I suspect this will age positively, and comfortably, into the late '30s.Terrific value on top of it all. Tasted September 2022.

James Suckling

93 Points

A complex nose of blackcurrants, tobacco leaf, lead pencil and gravel. Full-bodied with fine tannins. Texturally driven with subtle concentration and intensity. Fresh and fruity with mineral undertones. Herbal complexity adds depth. Best after 2024.