Founded in 2013, the Leeu Passant wines are a partnership between Analjit Singh of Leeu Estates and Chris and Andrea Mullineux. Analjit visited South Africa for the first time in 2010 for the FIFA World Cup, fell in love with the winemaking culture in Franschhoek and never left. He subsequently bought into Mullineux and appointed Chris and Andrea as winemakers for his Leeu Estates. This enabled them to work with fruit from Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and other regions beyond Swartland.
The fruit for the Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from vineyards planted on the cool slopes of the Helderberg Mountain and Polkadraai Hills. The grapes are destemmed and fermented with indigenous yeasts, before ageing in 500-litre barrels for 20 months. The resulting wine has a lovely tobacco leaf aroma, typical of Cabernet grown on cooler slopes, with ripe, grainy tannins nicely balanced by excellent acidity on the finish.
