Max Red

Best served with slow roasted lamb, grilled rib-eye steak with bone marrow or an oxtail stew. The wine also pairs well with hard cheeses.

The vineyards are specially selected according to their age and site from various parts of Stellenbosch, mostly unirrigated and all low yielding (4 to 6 t/ha). This gives a pure expression of its environment in the wine. The grapes are ripened to peak maturity (between 23- and 25-degrees brix) before being hand harvested and delivered to the cellar at which point they are placed in a cold store overnight at 4 degrees Celsius.

Maturation takes place in small 225 liter French barriques of which 41% is new and lasts for 20 months with regular rackings. The wine received no fining or filtration before bottling.

During the processing of the fruit there is bunch sorting and berry sorting. Partial crushing takes place and the fruit was transferred without the use of pumps into small wooden and stainless steel open top fermenters. Fermentation takes place by the yeast naturally occurring on the grape and can take up to 14 days to complete. Extraction occurs through pump overs and punch downs. Once fermentation has completed the wine may stay on the skins for an additional period of time which is dependent on the tannin development and ripeness, after which the wine is drained off and pressed in a vertical basket press. Malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel after which the wine is racked and returned to barrel for further maturation.

Miles Mossop Wines burst onto the scene in 2004 when the first wines were made: Max 2004 and Saskia 2004. Max is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot and more recently Malbec and Saskia a blend of Chenin blanc Viognier and more recently Clairette blanche. Later in 2009 a third wine was introduced the Kika 2009 a botrytised wine made in the Noble Late Harvest style from 100% Chenin blanc.