Momento Chenin Blanc/Verdelho 2022
£23.25
The wine
Quince, white peach and grapefruit rind alongside hay, oatmeal and a wet stone minerality.
The Chenin comes from 43-year-old dry-farmed bush vines, blended with Verdelho, the Madeira grape, which is a rare thing to find in the Cape. South Africa old bush vines are its most valuable asset and its most fragile: Chenin was long used for brandy and bulk wine and old plantings were grubbed up as recently as the 1990s, before anyone valued what they had. Momento is Marelise Niemann label, working rented parcels of old dry-farmed bush vines across the Western Cape rather than farming an estate of her own.
The producer
Momento
View all Momento winesMomento Wines is the acclaimed project of South African winemaker Marelise Niemann, crafting characterful, elegant wines from across the Western Cape. Since its founding it has become one of the Cape's most admired boutique names.
Working with old vines and cooler sites, and a particular love of Grenache and Chenin Blanc, Niemann farms thoughtfully and vinifies with a natural, gentle hand. The result is wines of freshness, texture and quiet individuality.
The range includes a distinctive Chenin Blanc and Verdelho blend, a rare and lovely Grenache Gris, a pure Grenache Blanc and a fragrant, light-framed Paardeberg Grenache Noir. Each is understated and beautifully judged.
Fresh, textural and full of personality, Momento's wines reward the curious. They are among the most charming expressions of the new-wave Cape.
