Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines

Mullineux Family Wines at Roundstone, Riebeek Kasteel

Mullineux (branded with partner Leeu as Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines) is one of the Swartland’s defining fine-wine houses: Chris and Andrea Mullineux’s project from 2007, later partnered with Analjit Singh, producing Swartland wines from Roundstone Farm on the south-western slopes of Kasteelberg between Malmesbury and Riebeek Kasteel. Official hub: mlfwines.com (mullineuxwines.com resolves here).

Critical visitor rule for this Swartland inventory row: public tasting at Roundstone is a first-Friday, advance-appointment programme—not a daily walk-in cellar door. The separate Wine Studio on Leeu Estates in Franschhoek offers daily tasting of Mullineux and Leeu Passant wines; that Franschhoek venue is a different place and should not be confused with Roundstone, nor with Porseleinberg.

Roundstone Farm: soils, vines, farming

Official winery copy places Roundstone on deep schist bedrock, with topsoils from hard blue schist through weathered brown schist with quartz veins to deep colluvial material from Table Mountain Sandstone on Kasteelberg. Those heavy, rocky soils are linked to structured reds and textured whites. Vineyards used for Mullineux wines are predominantly dryland bush vines, sustainably farmed; Roundstone vines are described as in conversion toward Regenerative Organic practice (composts, mulch, cover crops suited to a warm, dry Swartland climate).

The Roundstone Room sits beside Chenin Blanc and Syrah vineyards with views toward Kasteelberg and fynbos countryside—the setting for the monthly public tasting. A visit here is as much about reading the slope and wind as about the glass: the family’s published story ties reasoned, sustainable farming and modern minimalist winemaking to wines that taste of Swartland sites rather than of cellar cosmetics.

Swartland tasting: first Friday by appointment

Per the official wine-tasting page (mlfwines.com/mullineux-wine-tasting/):

• Tastings on the first Friday of every month, slots at 10:00 or 13:00, window described as 10:00–15:00, by appointment in advance.
• Allow at least 1.5 hours for tasting and vineyard walk (weather permitting).
• Maximum group size: 12.
• Published Mullineux Tasting at Roundstone: selection of nine wines from Signature, Single Terroir and ROUNDSTONE ranges at R650 per person (confirm when booking—tariffs can change).
• An Exclusive Roundstone Room hire for up to 12 guests includes vineyard focus on terroir, varieties and Regenerative Organic farming plus in-depth tasting; published structure is R10 000 allocated toward tasting and wine purchases (extras billed)—enquire with Ruben Botha.

Book Roundstone with Ruben Botha: ruben@mlfwines.com / +27 83 282 9269.

Do not treat Wine in the Cape or other tertiary “Mon–Sun open” widgets as Roundstone walk-in hours. Prefer the official first-Friday rule every time you publish an itinerary or SEO snippet.

Wine Studio, Franschhoek (separate)

Daily tastings of Mullineux and Leeu Passant wines run at The Wine Studio, Leeu Estates, Dassenberg Road, Franschhoek, published daily 10:00–17:00. Contacts listed on the Mullineux contact page include +27 21 492 2224, winestudio@leeucollection.com, and tastings@mlfwines.com. Use this channel when you want Mullineux wines on a Franschhoek day—not as a substitute GPS pin for Roundstone. Leeu Passant is the Franschhoek-facing winery in the partnership; Mullineux remains the Swartland name on Roundstone fruit and farming.

Office and farm contacts

Postal: PO Box 369, Riebeek Kasteel, 7307. Official socials linked from the site include Facebook MullineuxWines and Instagram @mullineuxwines.

What you taste in the Swartland programme

Official Roundstone flight language points to Signature and Single Terroir Swartland wines—Old Vines White, Syrah, Straw Wine, single-terroir Chenin and Syrah expressions, and ROUNDSTONE-range bottles—plus the broader Kloof Street introduction to style in some programme descriptions. Single-terroir wines appear only in vintages that deliver a clear site expression; allocation pressure is real. Ask what is open that Friday rather than assuming a fixed museum list.

Platter’s Guide has named Mullineux South African Winery of the Year five times (stated on the official story page)—useful context for why appointments fill, not a reason to invent walk-in access. Chris and Andrea’s 2007 start and the later Leeu partnership explain the dual-region footprint without collapsing Franschhoek hospitality into a Swartland day trip.

Planning tips for travellers

1. Book Roundstone as soon as your travel month is fixed; first Fridays are finite and group size is capped. 2. If your dates miss the first Friday, use the Wine Studio in Franschhoek or buy through authorised merchants—do not invent a private Swartland open day or a SIP open-day substitute. 3. Combine Roundstone with Riebeek Valley lunch towns; there is no claim here of an on-farm restaurant at Roundstone. 4. Keep Porseleinberg mentally separate—different farm, different appointment culture, Boekenhoutskloof-linked Syrah project on its own schist mountain. 5. Allow vineyard-walk time in good weather; in heat or wind, confirm whether the walk still runs when you reconfirm the booking.

Mullineux at Roundstone rewards travellers who treat the Swartland like a working wine region: one carefully booked Friday, schist underfoot, and wines that helped make the district internationally serious—without confusing the farm with Franschhoek’s daily Wine Studio or with neighbouring allocation estates.