He has also benefited from an extensive (and overdue) replanting programme. This will become increasingly clear as the younger red vines acquire some age, though the cabernet (which sells for the ridiculously undervalued price of R160) already provides evidence of a finer, more succulent and more engaging fruit quality.
Mason’s hand is also present in the estate’s chardonnays, both the unwooded (which has an almost chablis-like quality to it) and the oaked example. Both have a linearity and purity without meanness and austerity. Proof of their potential is to be found in the late release of the (Paradyskloof) 2012 unwooded chardonnay, of which 600 bottles were held back while Coetzee tested the quality and longevity of Diam (agglomerate) closures. It’s an exceptional wine and available from the cellar: reason alone to visit a farm whose doors were previously largely closed to the public.
Miles Mossop is not quite yet a legend — despite a career spanning over a quarter century in the wine industry. He is certainly a “rock star” (both in terms of his youthful good looks, and the recognition he enjoys from his colleagues). For almost two decades he was the cellarmaster at Tokara, overseeing the establishment of the estate and designing the range so that Stuart Botha — his successor — took over a machine that operated with Swiss-like precision.
For several years before he left the Tokara cellar, Mossop produced — with the blessings of owner GT Ferreira — a small range of wines under his own label. Nothing he made competed in the categories in which Tokara enjoyed a reputation. Now that he is working independently, the Miles Mossop wines include several bottlings in which cabernet plays a key role.
The 2022 Max is a classically styled bordeaux blend assembled from fruit harvested from vineyards in Bottelary, Polkadraai and Banhoek. The 2021 Sam is almost entirely cabernet, with a splash of merlot and petit verdot. It’s clearly been built for the long haul and justifies the purchase price (R995) as well as the cellaring time (at least 10 years).
Other (more affordable) wines from Mossop include a delicious 2023 chenin, The Introduction, produced from Stellenbosch and Swartland fruit — great value at R160 per bottle. There’s also “Chapter Three” 2022, his old vine chenin (from a vineyard planted in 1982) whose more complex textures, finely managed layerings, nuance and persistence are reflected in its R295 price tag.
Finally, Mossop has made a wine that celebrates his late father’s passion for Port. (Mossop père owned and developed “Axe Hill” — his own Port estate in Calitzdorp). Miles’ tribute, produced primarily from touriga nacional grapes, foot trodden in the traditional way, is intense, quite dry, with whiffs of violets and blueberries and a steal at R300 per 375ml bottle.
This column oroginally appeared in Business Day.
MICHAEL FRIDJHON: The wines that legends and rock stars have to offer
Journey to becoming a legend begins with being an unknown winemaker who is willing to put in the hours
Image: Supplied
In the world of wine, “legends” take a little time to acquire their status. You start off unknown, then you become a “young gun”, then, after the further elapse of time, a “rock star”. Finally, with the presumption of the imminence of retirement the moniker “legend” starts to be used.
There’s no question that Jan “Boland” Coetzee is a legend: he played for the Springboks more than 50 years ago before becoming the first winemaker in the modern era of Kanonkop. By the time he moved on to set up his own winery he was celebrated for his role in establishing the Simonsberg estate’s iconic reputation. He then built up Vriesenhof, pretty much from scratch, using the knowledge acquired at Kanonkop to produce very good cabernets and cabernet-based blends, and his experience gained from a vintage at Joseph Drouhin in Burgundy to make classically styled chardonnays.
After about 25 years at the helm he handed over the day-to-day winemaking to a new generation of winemakers. The incumbent is Adam Mason, whose years at Klein Constantia sharpened his skills in working with fruit from mountain vineyards. The latest releases from Vriesenhof definitely show he has wasted no time putting his own stamp on the estate’s wines.
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He has also benefited from an extensive (and overdue) replanting programme. This will become increasingly clear as the younger red vines acquire some age, though the cabernet (which sells for the ridiculously undervalued price of R160) already provides evidence of a finer, more succulent and more engaging fruit quality.
Mason’s hand is also present in the estate’s chardonnays, both the unwooded (which has an almost chablis-like quality to it) and the oaked example. Both have a linearity and purity without meanness and austerity. Proof of their potential is to be found in the late release of the (Paradyskloof) 2012 unwooded chardonnay, of which 600 bottles were held back while Coetzee tested the quality and longevity of Diam (agglomerate) closures. It’s an exceptional wine and available from the cellar: reason alone to visit a farm whose doors were previously largely closed to the public.
Miles Mossop is not quite yet a legend — despite a career spanning over a quarter century in the wine industry. He is certainly a “rock star” (both in terms of his youthful good looks, and the recognition he enjoys from his colleagues). For almost two decades he was the cellarmaster at Tokara, overseeing the establishment of the estate and designing the range so that Stuart Botha — his successor — took over a machine that operated with Swiss-like precision.
For several years before he left the Tokara cellar, Mossop produced — with the blessings of owner GT Ferreira — a small range of wines under his own label. Nothing he made competed in the categories in which Tokara enjoyed a reputation. Now that he is working independently, the Miles Mossop wines include several bottlings in which cabernet plays a key role.
The 2022 Max is a classically styled bordeaux blend assembled from fruit harvested from vineyards in Bottelary, Polkadraai and Banhoek. The 2021 Sam is almost entirely cabernet, with a splash of merlot and petit verdot. It’s clearly been built for the long haul and justifies the purchase price (R995) as well as the cellaring time (at least 10 years).
Other (more affordable) wines from Mossop include a delicious 2023 chenin, The Introduction, produced from Stellenbosch and Swartland fruit — great value at R160 per bottle. There’s also “Chapter Three” 2022, his old vine chenin (from a vineyard planted in 1982) whose more complex textures, finely managed layerings, nuance and persistence are reflected in its R295 price tag.
Finally, Mossop has made a wine that celebrates his late father’s passion for Port. (Mossop père owned and developed “Axe Hill” — his own Port estate in Calitzdorp). Miles’ tribute, produced primarily from touriga nacional grapes, foot trodden in the traditional way, is intense, quite dry, with whiffs of violets and blueberries and a steal at R300 per 375ml bottle.
This column oroginally appeared in Business Day.
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