Momento Grenache Gris 2023
£23.75
The wine
Exotic and alluring, with strawberries, rhubarb, almond biscotti and orange rind.
Grenache Gris is a pink-skinned mutation of Grenache, and this comes from the only vineyard of it in South Africa. Those skins give the wine both its faint blush and its texture, since even brief contact draws colour and phenolics a white variety could not. Mutations like this occur naturally in old vineyards and are usually interplanted rather than bottled alone. 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.
