Momento Piekenierskloof Grenache Noir 2023
£30.95
The wine
Earthy and lightly peppery on the nose, layered with fynbos, tomato leaf, red apple skin and wild strawberry. The palate is taut and red-fruited, with a grippy texture and an intensity that belies the pale colour. Fresh, crunchy and vivid.
Piekenierskloof is a remote pocket of the Citrusdal mountains north of the Swartland, home to some of the oldest vineyards in the Western Cape. Marelise Niemann draws this wine from two neighbouring dryland bush vine sites, the oldest planted in 1987, at 750 metres on Table Mountain sandstone. The altitude brings cold nights that hold acidity and build delicate aromatics, and the vine age keeps yields low and berries small. Her cellar work is deliberately hands-off: hand picked in the early morning, destemmed with 20 per cent whole clusters, four days cold soaking, spontaneous fermentation with twice-daily hand punch-downs, then ten further days on skins before basket pressing to older 225-litre French oak for sixteen months. Bottled unfined.
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.
