“The best glass of wine in the world is the one in front of you. So you must not be too worried about how much it cost or exactly where it came from. Really, just enjoying it for what it is. If you are enjoying it in that moment, it is the best wine in the world.”
Miles is an alumnus of Wynberg Boys’ High and a double BSc graduate from Stellenbosch University. He obtained his degree in viticulture and oenology in 1998, graduating top of his class, having completed a degree in geology and geochemistry in 1995. A student practical spell at Spice Route was followed by a stint with Gyles Webb at Thelema. In 1999, he spent a vintage at the prestigious Knappstein winery in Clare, South Australia, and then did a tasting stint in France. In January 2000, he joined Tokara for their first harvest and remained the winemaker until May 2018. He worked the 2000 and 2001 vintages as a cellar hand with Alain Parret in Condrieu, France, and Planeta in Sicily, Italy, respectively. Miles joined the CWG at the end of 2012 and served on the committee for four years from 2014 to 2017, first as vice chair and then as chairman.
In 2004, Miles started his own wine brand, Miles Mossop Wines, while still remaining the winemaker at Tokara. He decided to go it alone in mid-2018 and is now 100 percent focused on his own brand. Miles is passionate about surfing, fishing and wine in all its guises.
93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot
Wine of Origin Stellenbosch
A pure expression of Cabernet Sauvignon from Stellenbosch. Sourced from older vineyards on the Helderberg.
Tasting Notes: Intense nose of dark berry fruits with hints of cedar and tobacco leaf. The palate is dark and rich with cherry, cassis and ripe plums on the entry leading to a full mid-palate and firm dry finish.
Ready for drinking 10 to 15 years from vintage.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
85% Chenin Blanc, 15% Clairette Blanche
Wine of Origin Swartland
This wine is an authentic expression of old bush-vine Chenin Blanc sourced from the Paardeberg in the Swartland region. To enhance complexity, a portion of Clairette Blanche from the same area is blended in. Both varietals thrive in the decomposed granite soils of the region, contributing to the wine’s unique terroir-driven character. The Chenin Blanc vines boast an impressive age of 51 years, while the Clairette Blanche vines are 43 years old. During fermentation, the Chenin Blanc undergoes the process in an older 400-litre French oak barrel, while the Clairette Blanche ferments in a concrete egg.
Tasting Notes: White and yellow peach, fennel bulb with hints of citrus blossom emanate from the glass. The palate bursts with stone fruit flavours leading to a crisp saline and pithy finish.
Ready for drinking 5 to 10 years from vintage.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot
Wine of Origin Stellenbosch
Tasting Notes: Deep rich garnet colour. Intense nose of dark berries, tobacco, dried herbs, and undertones of vanilla spice. The palate is rich with heady notes of bramble fruit, cedar and dried herbs with a long finish.
This wine will be ready for drinking 10 to 15 years from vintage.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% Merlot
A single Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard from the Helderberg, blended with a small amount of Petit Verdot and Merlot for complexity. Picked at a ripeness to express the density and structure typical of this part of Stellenbosch, while retaining freshness. Naturally fermented in a small wooden open top fermenter, then matured in 225 litre French oak barriques for 20 months, 46% being new. Bottled in December 2020.
Tasting Notes: Intense aromas of cassis and bramble fruit emanate from the glass with underlying notes of tobacco, cedar and toast. The palate mirrors the nose with a dry textured finish and lingering freshness.
Ready for drinking in 2029.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
100% Cabernet Sauvignon
The grapes originate from decomposed shale soils in the Bottelary area of Stellenbosch. A bottling of only two barrels of the best Cabernet Sauvignon in the cellar. Fermented naturally in a small, upright wooden fermenter. Matured in small French oak barrels, 50% new, for 22 months. Bottled without fining or filtration. A true expression of the variety and the region.
Tasting Notes: Dark, heady notes of cassis, cedar and black berry fruits. Full and structured on the palate with great intensity. Leading to a textured mid-palate of sweet berry fruits and a dry savoury finish.
Will drink well in 5 years, improving for a further 10 years.
This wine is packed in a wooden box.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
65% Chenin Blanc, 25% Clairette Blanche, 10% Grenache Blanc
The three bush-vine vineyards used to make this wine are all situated on the northern slopes of the Paardeberg mountain in the Swartland, growing in decomposed granite soils. The fruit was whole-bunch pressed together and the juice co-fermented naturally in a 700 litre concrete egg, where it matured for a total of 11 months before being bottled without fining and filtration. Only a small amount of SO2 was added in the making of this wine, giving a true expression of the sites and the region.
Tasting Notes: Stunning perfume of citrus blossom underpinned by stone fruit and orange preserve notes. The flavours are full and rich, yet the mid-palate is focused and clean; leading to a dry, almost pithy finish.
21 cases of this wine were previously sold on the 2020 Auction.
Ready for drinking now, but will improve with maturation for a further 7 years.
This wine is packed in a wooden box.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
65% Chenin Blanc, 25% Clairette Blanche, 10% Grenache Blanc
Wine of Origin Swartland 
The three bush vine vineyards that make up this wine are all from the same part of the Paardeberg, Swartland, and growing in decomposed granite soils. The fruit was whole bunch pressed together and the juice co-fermented in a small concrete egg, where it matured for a total of 11 months before being bottled without fining or filtration. Only sulphur was added in the making of this wine giving a true expression of the vineyards and the region.
This is my expression of the region and the vineyards the grapes originate from – Saskia complete.
Tasting Notes: Stunning perfume of citrus blossom, underpinned by stone fruit and orange preserve notes. The flavours are full and rich; yet the mid-palate is focused and clean leading to a dry textured finish.
Drink now, but will improve with maturation for a further 8 years.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
This is a selection from the best performing vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon
that would normally make up a component of the Max blend. Fermented and
matured separately, the grapes are treated with the utmost care and respect
of fruit. The winemaking process is simple – follow a natural process to
preserve what is inherently perfect in the fruit, to an end
product
which can be bottled.
Tasting Notes: This wine is intense and dark. Displaying notes of cassis, blackberry and cedar wood. Hints of tobacco leaf and a firm tannic, savoury finish.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
This is a selection of the best performing parcels of vineyards used for the Saskia blend. These parcels are fermented and matured separately, being blended to best express the environment they are grown in. Naturally guided through the winemaking process to preserve what is inherently in the fruit until bottling. Bottled without filtration or fining.
Tasting Notes: The aromas and flavours are intense and complex, with notes of white peach, orange blossom, fresh brioche and toasted almonds with a hint of struck match on the nose.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
This is an expression of the Cabernet Sauvignon block used as a basis for my Max blend growing on slate soils in the Bottelary area of Stellenbosch. The vineyards are unirrigated and produce low yielding fruit (2 to 4 tons/hectare), giving a pure expression of its environment. The grapes are handled with the utmost care in the cellar. Natural winemaking principles are followed with no additions besides sulphur to the grapes and the wine. The wine was matured for 22 months in barrels, of which 33% were new.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
This is an expression of the Merlot block used as part of my Max blend from an exceptional year, originating from the Bottelary area in Stellenbosch. The grapes are hand-picked and then cooled down overnight before being destemmed and crushed into an open top wooden fermenter. Natural winemaking processes are followed with only SO2 being added to the grapes and the wine. The wine spent 22 months maturing in second fill French oak barrels. Bottled unfiltered and unfined.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
The grapes were hand-picked and placed in a cold store overnight. The grapes were destemmed, hand sorted and crushed directly into wooden fermenters. Fermentation began spontaneously resulting in a long cold soak. Total maceration on the skins was for a period of around four weeks after which the wine was drained off and taken to barrel for malolactic fermentation. The wines spent 22 months in 60% new French oak and the rest being older French barriques. The wine was bottled unfiltered and unfined.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
The grapes originate from old bush vine vineyards in the northern Paardeberg. The grapes were hand-picked and packed into a cold store overnight. The following day they were whole bunch pressed to tank for overnight settling. The juice was then taken to second and fifth fill 400 litre French oak barrels for natural fermentation. When fermentation was complete the barrels were topped and the wine matured on the lees for 10 months with regular stirring.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
The grapes were hand-picked into small shallow picking crates and placed in a cold store overnight. The following day the cold grapes (6°C) were whole bunch pressed to a stainless steel tank for overnight settling. The settled juice was moved to barrel for fermentation which took place spontaneously. The wine spent a total of 11 months in 228 litre barrels of which 33% were new. Only sulphur dioxide was used in the production of this wine, there was no fining, stabilisation or filtration.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
This wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the two consistently best performing vineyards on Tokara Stellenbosch. The grapes were hand-picked and placed in a cold store overnight. The following day they were crushed directly into large wooden fermenters. Fermentation began spontaneously resulting in a long cold soak. Total maceration on the skins was for a period of around 4 weeks after which the wine was drained off and skins pressed in our basket press. The wines spent a total of twenty-two months in 60% new French oak and the rest being older French oak barriques. The wine was bottled unfiltered in February 2013.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
This is a blend of 85% Chenin Blanc and 15% Clairette Blanche. The Chenin Blanc grapes are from a single old bush vine vineyard from the northern part of the Paardeberg in the Swartland, growing in sandy soils of granite origin. The Chenin Blanc was picked at around 24°B. The Clairette Blanche is from a similar site and was picked at a very low sugar (19.5°B) to preserve the acidity that is inherently low in this variety. The grapes were whole bunch pressed. The juice was then run to 400 litre barrels after minimal settling and the fermentation was allowed to start naturally. After fermentation, the wine was topped and matured ‘sur lie’ for 10 months in French oak, with regular lees stirring. Only 2nd and 5th fill barrels were used.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon wines from the two consistently best performing vineyards on Tokara. The grapes were hand-picked at optimal ripeness. The grapes were placed in a cold store overnight and then de-stemmed and sent across a sorting table before being crushed directly into large wooden fermenters where natural fermentation occurred. The wine spent a total of twenty two months in 67% new French oak. Tasting Notes: This wine displays a deep, dark garnet colour. The aromas are that of dark cherry and black currant fruit with notes of cedar wood and fennel bulb. The palate is full and rich with intensely textured tannins which are tight and grainy. The finish is intensely long, displaying surprising freshness. 60 cases of this wine were sold on the 2012 Auction.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
The grapes originate from four adjacent vineyards on the upper southern slopes of the Simonsberg mountain, between 350 to 530 metres above sea level. The Semillon was picked on the 10th February while the 3 different blocks of Sauvignon Blanc were picked late February/early March. Only free run juice was used. The Sauvignon Blanc fermented in 500 litre light toast barrels (approximately 30% new) while the Semillon fermented in 225 litre medium toast barriques (50% being new). The wine was blended in November and returned to barrel for further maturation. Bottled in February 2013. Tasting Notes: The wine has a stunning nose of honeydew melon, passionfruit and lemon- grass. There are hints of white flowers, toasted brioche and marzipan. The entry on the palate is full and rich with stunning clarity of fruit and weight, with a clean middle palate and a long textured finish of toasted almonds and pine nuts. The concentration and acidity of this wine will ensure that it ages well for a further 10 years.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
This is an expression of the Cabernet Sauvignon block used as a basis for my Max blend. The grapes were picked at optimal ripeness and cooled down to around 5 degrees C. After bunch selection, de-stemming and berry selection, the grapes were crushed into 2 ton wooden upright fermenters and cold soaked until fermentation started spontaneously. Fermentation took 14 days, with punch-downs twice a day. Maceration on the skins for 22 days before the wine was run off and the pomace pressed. Malolactic fermentation in barrel. Three 225 litre barrels were selected – one new, one second fill and one third fill. 22 months in barrel, a light egg white fining, after which the wine was bottled unfiltered. Tasting Notes: Inky, dark plum-red colour. Intense aromas of red and black berry fruit with underlying notes of five spice and Christmas cake. The wine is full and rich when it enters the palate with dark rich flavours of black cherries, cassis and black olives. There is a certain saltiness to the wine on the finish, with chewy yet elegant tannins.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop
This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon wines from the two consistently best performing vineyards on Tokara. The grapes were hand-picked at optimal ripeness from the 22nd and 26th March at sugars of 25 and 26 degrees brix and acidities of 6.5 and 5.0g/l respectively. The grapes were placed in a cold store overnight and then de-stemmed and sent across a sorting table before being crushed directly into large wooden fermenters where natural fermentation occurred. The wine spent a total of twenty-two months in 67% new French oak. Tasting Notes: This wine displays a dark garnet colour and deep plum colour on the rim. The nose is that of dark cherry and black currant fruit with intense aromas of mocha, cedarwood and fennel bulb. The palate is full and rich with dark fruit and heady notes. The wine finishes with sweet fruit notes and is intensely long. This wine will start drinking well from 2015 and will mature well for another 10 years till 2025.
Winemaker: Miles Mossop