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The impressive Uva Mira Mountain Vineyards winery is one of the jewels in the Museum Wines portfolio, situated close to the coastal town of Somerset West on False Bay, a prime viticultural area that not only boasts some of the oldest vineyard soils in the world but also some of the most idyllic climatic conditions for growing grape vines. Evidence of this lies in the tall, weathered mountains that grace the surrounding landscape and the Helderberg Mountain Range against which the Uva Mira vineyards nestle. The Winkler Scale, also referred to as the heat summation scale, is a popular technique for classifying the climate of wine-growing regions and in the system, geographical areas are divided into five climatic regions based on temperature, known as Regions I to V. Different grape varietals are proven to thrive in specific regions and Uva Mira falls into a Region II classification, the second coolest, which is thought to be the ideal climate for white cultivars such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, as well as classical red cultivars such as the Bordeaux varieties and Shiraz. If you consider that the Constantia Valley and Elgin, two of the coolest wine regions in the Cape, share the same Region II heat summation rating as the Helderberg, you really start to understand what great premium grape growing potential this small coastal part of the Stellenbosch region genuinely holds. On a warm Cape summers day, gentle cooling breezes blow in off the False Bay and temper the summertime heat that can sometimes compromise the more delicate and refined aromatic and flavour components of vineyards within warmer, more inland areas of the Cape. But certainly no such problems in the Helderberg and at the stunning Uva Mira estate. I recently sampled the newly arrived releases from Uva Mira and was absolutely thrilled to see the fabulous quality equally distributed across four different vintages from 2019 to 2022 and also across four different red and white single cultivars. A true testament to the tempering effects of the cold Atlantic Ocean on the weather patterns on the Uva Mira wine estate! |
Greg's Top Picks
of 2023
93+ Points – Greg Sherwood MW
“The 2022 Sing-a-Wing Sauvignon Blanc is another beautifully fashioned white wine from the cool coastal slopes of the Helderberg. The bouquet is lively and zesty but also beautifully crystalline and pure, with aromatics of freshly grated lime peel, tart Granny Smith apples, fresh fennel, and spicy lemon grass hints. The palate is driven by freshness, vitality, and energy, brimming with savoury, leesy notes of apple puree, green pears, lime cordial and exotic notions of stem ginger. Beautifully harmonious and balanced with a tangy, bright acidity and a pithy mineral texture, this is at once a joyous glassful of Sauvignon Blanc deliciousness but also an impressively serious expression. Drink on release and enjoy over 3 to 5+ years.” – Greg Sherwood MW.
95+ Points – Greg Sherwood MW
“It is impossible not to be positively influenced by the 2021 vintage on this new release bottle of Cabernet Franc! Fortunately, the Mira 2021 delivers in spades, boasting rich, intricate aromatics of floral perfume, berry fruit, and oak spice. The bouquet leads with a medley of pressed violets, cherry blossom, and sweet cedar spice before ripe, bright notes of wild strawberry, red currant, and red plum surge to the fore. The oak is delicate, caressing, and finely integrated, expressing itself with a delicate spicy sapidity and a gentle vanilla pod kiss. On the palate, the wine is impressively silky, smooth, and harmonious, with bright, racy acids underpinning weightlessly textured layers of red currant, blackberry, and boysenberry fruits. A wonderfully precise, articulate wine that continues Uva Mira’s sterling reputation for producing premium, eye-catching Cabernet Franc wines in the Helderberg. Drink on release and over the next 10 to 12+ years.” – Greg Sherwood MW.
94 Points – Greg Sherwood MW
“The 2020 Mira Shiraz shows all the elegance and finesse that characterizes premium wines from this attractive, supple vintage. The aromatics are complex and spicy, revealing intricate notes of black cherries, bramble berries, and mulberries over subtle nuances of burnt wood embers and campfire smoke. The palate weight is medium bodied and incredibly elegant with a weightless fruit concentration, soft, silky polished tannins, and earthy, red and black berry fruits that melt away slowly to reveal exotic grilled meat notes, sweet Christmas spices and a smoky, bruleed finish. Several years of extra aging in the bottle before release make this a thoroughly seductive Shiraz that’s totally irresistible and ready to drink now and over the next 3 to 5+ years.” – Greg Sherwood MW.
97 Points – Decanter | 97 Points – Greg Sherwood MW | 93 Points – Neal Martin
“The Series C 2021 is another sumptuous Cape Bordeaux Blend made up of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 10% Malbec and 7% Cabernet Franc that was aged for 22 months in 81% new French oak 225 litre barriques, with the balance aged in used French oak barrels. Winemaker Chris de Vries was very excited by the berry flavour complexity at harvest time and when you pull the cork on this wine, the 2021 vintage displays an incredibly vivid, overt, beautifully lifted, piercing array of perfumed sweet violets, iris, cherry blossom, potpourri and incense with a delicate dusting of cocoa powder and vanilla pod spice. With the cool fruited aromatic ebb and flow, delicious notes of saline black currant, black cherry, crème de cassis, sandalwood, cigar wrapper, and cinnamon spice slowly develop, all pristinely pure and fabulously intense. Medium bodied, tightly wound and layered, the sleek supple mouthfeel truly typifies the very finest premium reds produced in this classically cooler vintage. Indeed, I cannot quite recall another vintage in the past two decades quite like it, with such sweet well-rounded tannins, fresh piercing acidities and magnificently weightless, crystalline tart red and black berry fruits on the velvety, seamless palate. The jury is out on whether this is the greatest Series C produced by Vilafonte to date simply because the astounding 2016 was such a uniquely brilliant creation. Needless to say, a wine of this beauty and precision will undoubtedly be counted as one of the finest reds of the vintage. Drink on release and enjoy over the next 20+ years.” – Greg Sherwood MW.
94 Points – Greg Sherwood MW
“The 2020 Mira Shiraz shows all the elegance and finesse that characterizes premium wines from this attractive, supple vintage. The aromatics are complex and spicy, revealing intricate notes of black cherries, bramble berries, and mulberries over subtle nuances of burnt wood embers and campfire smoke. The palate weight is medium bodied and incredibly elegant with a weightless fruit concentration, soft, silky polished tannins, and earthy, red and black berry fruits that melt away slowly to reveal exotic grilled meat notes, sweet Christmas spices and a smoky, bruleed finish. Several years of extra aging in the bottle before release make this a thoroughly seductive Shiraz that’s totally irresistible and ready to drink now and over the next 3 to 5+ years.” – Greg Sherwood MW.