Momento Riebeekberg Grenache Noir 2023

Momento Riebeekberg Grenache Noir

Region: Western Cape, South Africa

Vintage: 2023

Bottle size: 75cl

Grape: Grenache Noir

ABV: 13%

The nose is distinctly Pinot-esque, opening with aromas of roses, orange peel, cherries, and sweet spice, layered with a subtle note of forest floor. The palate is finely layered, showing maraschino cherry and vibrant red fruit flavours, framed by bright acidity and slightly waxy, pine-green tannins. Coiled and energetic, the wine displays tension and poise.

The Riebeekberg Grenache is sourced from bush vines planted on schist soils on the slopes of the Riebeekberg in the Swartland, a site that lends the wine its distinctive texture, freshness, and sense of place.

Marelise follows a ‘hands-off’ approach in the cellar to produce the purest site expression. After early-morning hand harvesting, the grapes were destemmed into small fermenters with 30% whole clusters and underwent four days of cold soaking on skins before spontaneous fermentation began. Hand punch-downs twice daily ensured gentle extraction, followed by a further 10 days of post-fermentation maceration to refine tannin texture. After a total of four weeks on skins, the wine was basket-pressed into older 225-litre French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and maturation, spending 16 months in barrel

Born from a passion for Mediterranean varieties and old-vine fruit, Momento is the solo project from dynamic winemaker Marelise Niemann. Marelise honed her craft at Beaumont Family Wines from 2007 to 2014, sharing cellar space with Crystallum’s Peter-Allan Finlayson and Thorne & Daughters’ John Thorne-Seccombe. She also worked extensively in California, the Rhône, Burgundy, and Portugal. Her fascination with Grenache was sparked in 2010 while in Priorat, where, together with winemaker Eben Sadie, she was impressed by the vibrant fruit produced by old vines. Returning to South Africa, she sought out parcels of old vine Grenache to make her own elegant and soulful wines. In 2023, she was named Tim Atkin’s ‘Young Winemaker of the Year’ in recognition of her work.