If you translate the word Mal from Afrikaans to English, it means crazy and Bek means mouth. And that was quite clearly the inspiration behind this label! And as you guessed it, this is a 100% Malbec from the Helderberg, farmed by a fellow surfer and good friend’s of Pieter. Dark chocolate dipped oranges, with some minty notes, violets and a sweet perfume akin to opening a box of chocolates on the nose. Medium-full bodied, and very much so showing the softer, prettier side of Malbec, with gentle tannins, good freshness, and a lovely rounded mouthfeel.

#Tasting#

The tale behind the name BLANKbottle is that when Pieter was starting out, he made a small parcel of Shiraz and was left with a few unlabelled cases. One day, a woman wanted to buy a wine Anything but Shiraz, she told him. Pieter shrugged and sold her the unlabelled Shiraz, neglecting to mention the variety. A few weeks later she returned demanding more, saying it was the best thing shed ever drunk. For Pieter, it was a lesson on the gap between what people think they like (or dislike) and what they actually like (or dislike). After that, he decided not to list the varieties on his labels. Every one of Pieters wines is a story, rather than a grape variety, and its the juice inside the bottle which reveals that story. He doesnt own any vines, but instead scours South Africas winelands for top-quality fruit that has somehow slipped under the radar, now sourcing from nearly 70 sites. Some years hell make 20 wines, other years 35. With the benefit of anonymity, variety and regional identity take a back seat while parcel expression does the driving. These are some of South Africas most original wines, made by one of South Africas most original winemakers.