"This Darling Old Vine 2021 Cinsault is really something to behold… They don’t come much better than this!"- Greg Sherwood, 97 points

“No one has done more to promote old-vine Cinsault than Alex Milner.” - Tim Atkin MW

Alexander Milner has quickly established himself as The Cape's go-to guy for Cinsault. He calls it "the poor man's Pinot Noir", not only because it has a similar ethereal lightness, but also because it is so sensitive to the site on which the vines grow and he has spent his career pedalling around The Cape on his bicycle looking for little plots brimming with potential. He produces 4 separate expressions from Paarl, Darling, Stellenbosch and Swartland. This is our favourite, the Darling Cinsault, from the eponymous ward that lies between Swartland and the Ocean. It's typically pale in colour and has Pinot-like aromas of earthy strawberries and rose petals and wild cherry that continue on to the free-wheeling, red berry palate whose featherweight tannins apply the brakes just firmly enough to stop you gulping it down in one. Just. 12.5% alc. Unfined and unfiltered, so it will be slightly hazy. Drink now-2030.

Press reviews:

JancisRobinson.com: "The smell of bruised rose petals and rain on an old tin roof. Rose hips, redcurrants, rust and musk. The wine feels like lithified rock flaking horizontal in the mouth, the structure of the wine formed as much by earthbound minerality and deep iron-tang acidity as it is by the cashmere tannins. There is something about Alex Milner's Darling Cinsault that always gives me a haunting sense of loneliness; it always reminds me of the taste of an impending African thunderstorm; it feels like that silence that falls before the wind picks up, like the hot rocks under your feet, the smell of petrichor in the air. (TC). Drink now-2028." 17.5 points

Greg Sherwood MW: "This Darling Old Vine 2021 Cinsault is really something to behold. If ever there was a wine that proved that Cinsault could be world-class, then this is it. In the glass, the wine shows an opaque red plum colour and has a hedonistically high-toned perfumed aromatics of freshly picked rose petals and sweet lilacs before a complex melange of crunchy red orchard fruits seduces the senses. Wonderfully fresh and vibrant, the soft fleshy palate reveals potent notes red cherry, raspberry and strawberry pastille fruits before the classic Darling hallmark Turkish delight nuances come to the fore. Delicately mineral with a succulent intensity and tangy sweet and sour acidity, this 2021 Darling Cinsault is definitely ‘hall of fame’ quality with focus, depth and precision. Drink on release to enjoy its rose petal floral freshness or cellar for 6 to 8+ years to allow the old vine fruit to show its true regal potential. They don’t come much better than this!" 97 points

Tim Atkin MW: "Alex Milner says he's looking for a "tinge of greenness" in his Darling Cinsault, sourced from a bush-vine parcel planted in 1978. Fermented with 15% stalks, this has more grip than some of his range, with raspberry and redcurrant fruit and sinewy tannins.Drink now-2028” 94 points

Customer reviews:

”Absolutely delicious. Had a bottle last night. Thank you!” - Mr. P.J.

”Do you have anyone more of the Cinsault? It’s so good!” - Mr. J. L. (previous vintage)