The full range of the vintage 2021 wines from Mick & Jeanine Craven are now available.
The Pinot Gris and Cinsaut were released in September 2021, and are now joined by the Chardonnay, Karibib Vineyard Chenin Blanc, The Firs Vineyard Syrah, and the Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines are available in limited quantities.
Working exclusively with Stellenbosch WO, Jeanine and Mick have been making Craven Wines since 2013. All their wines are single vineyard and single varietal.
Their goals are purity, freshness and balance – there is minimal interference with the grapes (only SO2) once they reach the cellar. Although they do not own any vineyards, by far most of the Cravens’ efforts throughout the year is spent in the vineyards and working with the farmers from whom they buy their fruit.
With favourable reviews over the years by Christian Eedes, Greg Sherwood MW and Jamie Goode, Craven Wines are producing some of the most exciting wines coming out of Stellenbosch.
Vintage 2021
Vintage 2021 in South Africa was a very good one both for quality and quantity. Cooler weather in the ripening period allowed a later harvest than what is normal. This gave phenolic ripeness to the grapes without boosting sugars too much. The end result are wines of fruit weight, but moderate alcohols, and balanced acids and tannin.
The wines
Craven Chardonnay 2021
“Polkadraai Hills … we love what the area brings to white wines, a real inherent saltiness and freshness.” — Mick Craven
“Grapes from Polkadraai Hills. Citrus, herbs and a subtle yeasty note on the nose while the palate is lean and austere. Pure fruit, very fresh acidity and a pithy finish. If you like your Chardonnay unadorned, then this is for you.” — Christian Eedes (winemag.co.za)
Craven 'Karibib Vineyard' Chenin Blanc 2021
“Chenin blanc is a variety that we have always wanted to work with … we came across a beautiful site up on the Polkadraai Hills.
“We whole-bunch press this wine to 500L barrels, where it is left to ferment naturally. We let the wine complete malolactic fermentation and stabilise itself, and the wine is then left on the lees for around 4 months before its first racking. It spends a total of 9 months in barrel before bottling.” — Mick Craven
“Citrus, white peach, cut apple and a little earthiness on the nose. The palate has a great core of fruit, snappy acidity and a salty finish. Tightly wound and intricate, a pleasure to drink.” — Christian Eedes (winemag.co.za)
Craven Pinot Gris 2021
“Although a lot of the wine drinking world think and assume it is a ‘white grape’, it is in fact a lovely coppery/dark rose skinned grape.
“With this being the case, we just can’t waste that colour and delicious flavour trapped in the skins, so we ferment this wine like a red. In 2021 we destemmed the fruit in its entirety and fermented it in open top fermenters. The juice is lightly pumped over or punched down throughout fermentation. The fermentation on skins gives the wine a beautiful rose coloured hue. 2021 had such nice developed tannins that we found only 6 days on skins was sufficient to give ample texture to the wine. The wine spent 6 months in a combination of concrete and neutral 500L barrels before being bottled.” — Mick Craven
“As always, this is just immensely likeable. Subtle notes of strawberry, herbs and spice on the nose while the palate is almost but not quite evanescent with very fine tannins.” — Christian Eedes (winemag.co.za)
Craven Cinsaut 2021
“From 2017 we were lucky enough to be shown some fruit from a farm we have always wanted to make wine from, named Rustenhof. This great farm in the Faure area has an abundance of lovely Cinsaut, amongst many other varieties. This dryland, bush-vine block, planted in granite and sand, suits our style very well and is a pleasure to work with.
“We de-stem our Cinsaut before fermentation. We like to capture the little acidity that it has (whole bunch ferments tend to reduce acidity). Gentle pumpovers or punch downs are performed 1-2 times a day throughout fermentation and the resulting wine was pressed to a combination of concrete and neutral 500L barrel. We want to capture the fresher, brighter characters of Cinsaut, and thus bottle this wine earlier than our other red wines.” — Mick Craven
“Pretty aromatics including floral perfume, cherry, plum, fynbos and spice while the palate shows pure fruit, bright acidity and fine tannins. Entirely charming.” — Christian Eedes (winemag.co.za)
Craven 'The Firs Vineyard' Syrah 2021
“Syrah is a grape that we both have a soft spot for. We think there are some really special and unique sites and plantings of Syrah in Stellenbosch. These grapes are from a great site in the ward Devon Valley. It is planted on a very rich, deep, red soil with a high clay content.
“The grapes are left 100% whole bunch, and lightly stomped by foot to extract a little juice. Very gentle pumpovers are performed once or twice daily, as we want to minimise extraction and maintain as many whole bunches as possible. 2021 was pressed off after 10 days on skins into old puncheons for 10 months.” — Mick Craven
“The nose is wild and arresting with notes of red and black berries, lilies, pepper, fynbos and earth while the palate has good fruit density, lively acidity and rather severe tannins. This is intensely flavoured and has plenty of crunch but needs a year or so to settle down.” — Christian Eedes (winemag.co.za)
Craven Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
“The King! A variety we never thought we would entertain making until a lovely little site on the Karibib farm showed itself to us. During ripening it just had lovely flavours at a relatively low sugar level.
“Going against what is considered ‘standard operating procedure’, we fermented the grapes with a good percentage of whole bunch (75%) with the remaining destemmed on top. We love the tannin structure and aromatics the whole bunches can give to a wine and feel it works well with Cabernet.
“We pressed the grapes a little earlier than complete dryness to make sure the tannins didn’t get too aggressive and finished fermentation in tank. The wine was then matured in neutral 300L barrels for 12 months before bottling.” — Mick Craven
“The nose charms with notes of red and black berries, crushed leaves and a hint of violets. The palate is medium bodied with good fruit expression, fresh acidity and nicely grippy tannins.” — Christian Eedes (winemag.co.za)
Craven Wines Vintage 2021
CRAVEN WINES
Vintage 2021
The full range of the vintage 2021 wines from Mick & Jeanine Craven are now available.
The Pinot Gris and Cinsaut were released in September 2021, and are now joined by the Chardonnay, Karibib Vineyard Chenin Blanc, The Firs Vineyard Syrah, and the Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines are available in limited quantities.
Working exclusively with Stellenbosch WO, Jeanine and Mick have been making Craven Wines since 2013. All their wines are single vineyard and single varietal.
Their goals are purity, freshness and balance – there is minimal interference with the grapes (only SO2) once they reach the cellar. Although they do not own any vineyards, by far most of the Cravens’ efforts throughout the year is spent in the vineyards and working with the farmers from whom they buy their fruit.
With favourable reviews over the years by Christian Eedes, Greg Sherwood MW and Jamie Goode, Craven Wines are producing some of the most exciting wines coming out of Stellenbosch.
Vintage 2021
Vintage 2021 in South Africa was a very good one both for quality and quantity. Cooler weather in the ripening period allowed a later harvest than what is normal. This gave phenolic ripeness to the grapes without boosting sugars too much. The end result are wines of fruit weight, but moderate alcohols, and balanced acids and tannin.
The wines
Craven Chardonnay 2021
“Polkadraai Hills … we love what the area brings to white wines, a real inherent saltiness and freshness.” — Mick Craven
“Grapes from Polkadraai Hills. Citrus, herbs and a subtle yeasty note on the nose while the palate is lean and austere. Pure fruit, very fresh acidity and a pithy finish. If you like your Chardonnay unadorned, then this is for you.” — Christian Eedes (winemag.co.za)
Craven 'Karibib Vineyard' Chenin Blanc 2021
“Chenin blanc is a variety that we have always wanted to work with … we came across a beautiful site up on the Polkadraai Hills.
“We whole-bunch press this wine to 500L barrels, where it is left to ferment naturally. We let the wine complete malolactic fermentation and stabilise itself, and the wine is then left on the lees for around 4 months before its first racking. It spends a total of 9 months in barrel before bottling.” — Mick Craven
“Citrus, white peach, cut apple and a little earthiness on the nose. The palate has a great core of fruit, snappy acidity and a salty finish. Tightly wound and intricate, a pleasure to drink.” — Christian Eedes (winemag.co.za)
Craven Pinot Gris 2021
“Although a lot of the wine drinking world think and assume it is a ‘white grape’, it is in fact a lovely coppery/dark rose skinned grape.
“With this being the case, we just can’t waste that colour and delicious flavour trapped in the skins, so we ferment this wine like a red. In 2021 we destemmed the fruit in its entirety and fermented it in open top fermenters. The juice is lightly pumped over or punched down throughout fermentation. The fermentation on skins gives the wine a beautiful rose coloured hue. 2021 had such nice developed tannins that we found only 6 days on skins was sufficient to give ample texture to the wine. The wine spent 6 months in a combination of concrete and neutral 500L barrels before being bottled.” — Mick Craven
“As always, this is just immensely likeable. Subtle notes of strawberry, herbs and spice on the nose while the palate is almost but not quite evanescent with very fine tannins.” — Christian Eedes (winemag.co.za)
Craven Cinsaut 2021
“From 2017 we were lucky enough to be shown some fruit from a farm we have always wanted to make wine from, named Rustenhof. This great farm in the Faure area has an abundance of lovely Cinsaut, amongst many other varieties. This dryland, bush-vine block, planted in granite and sand, suits our style very well and is a pleasure to work with.
“We de-stem our Cinsaut before fermentation. We like to capture the little acidity that it has (whole bunch ferments tend to reduce acidity). Gentle pumpovers or punch downs are performed 1-2 times a day throughout fermentation and the resulting wine was pressed to a combination of concrete and neutral 500L barrel. We want to capture the fresher, brighter characters of Cinsaut, and thus bottle this wine earlier than our other red wines.” — Mick Craven
“Pretty aromatics including floral perfume, cherry, plum, fynbos and spice while the palate shows pure fruit, bright acidity and fine tannins. Entirely charming.” — Christian Eedes (winemag.co.za)
Craven 'The Firs Vineyard' Syrah 2021
“Syrah is a grape that we both have a soft spot for. We think there are some really special and unique sites and plantings of Syrah in Stellenbosch. These grapes are from a great site in the ward Devon Valley. It is planted on a very rich, deep, red soil with a high clay content.
“The grapes are left 100% whole bunch, and lightly stomped by foot to extract a little juice. Very gentle pumpovers are performed once or twice daily, as we want to minimise extraction and maintain as many whole bunches as possible. 2021 was pressed off after 10 days on skins into old puncheons for 10 months.” — Mick Craven
“The nose is wild and arresting with notes of red and black berries, lilies, pepper, fynbos and earth while the palate has good fruit density, lively acidity and rather severe tannins. This is intensely flavoured and has plenty of crunch but needs a year or so to settle down.” — Christian Eedes (winemag.co.za)
Craven Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
“The King! A variety we never thought we would entertain making until a lovely little site on the Karibib farm showed itself to us. During ripening it just had lovely flavours at a relatively low sugar level.
“Going against what is considered ‘standard operating procedure’, we fermented the grapes with a good percentage of whole bunch (75%) with the remaining destemmed on top. We love the tannin structure and aromatics the whole bunches can give to a wine and feel it works well with Cabernet.
“We pressed the grapes a little earlier than complete dryness to make sure the tannins didn’t get too aggressive and finished fermentation in tank. The wine was then matured in neutral 300L barrels for 12 months before bottling.” — Mick Craven
“The nose charms with notes of red and black berries, crushed leaves and a hint of violets. The palate is medium bodied with good fruit expression, fresh acidity and nicely grippy tannins.” — Christian Eedes (winemag.co.za)
Read more about Craven Wines
Buy Craven Wines
Please contact david@exanimo.co.za if you have any queries.