Iron Chenin Blanc, Mullineux 2023

The 2023 Chenin Blanc Iron marks its return to the portfolio after Mullineux did not produce one in 2022. This has a more backward nose compared to the Granite cuvée, with touches of lanolin and hints of yellow fruit. The palate is much more expressive than the aromatics. It has a wonderful oily texture and plenty of depth and extract. It’s spicier than the Granite, with a long tail on the finish. Try to give this two or three years in bottle.

Up there with the best-ever bottlings of Iron Chenin Blanc, this hails from a very windy site on red clay soils that is usually picked before the other two terroir-specific Mullineux bottlings. Grippy, ferrous, salty and intense, it has lots of extract, a hint of tannin, notes of citrus, lanolin and gunflint and a pithy, mouth-watering finish.