Mother Rock Kweperfontein Chenin Blanc 2021

Winemaker: Johan Meyer

Appellation: Kweperfontein Vineyard, Paardeberg Mountain, South Africa

Grape Varietals: Chenin Blanc

All the grapes are grown from one single vineyard on the Paardeberg Mountain, south of Malmesbury. The vineyard is owned by Barry Schreiber and farmed by his daughter Franziska Wickens, whose husband Jasper produces the Swerver Wines from the vineyard. A small handful of other producers, notably John Seccombe, of Thorne & Daughters. The bush vine vineyard was planted in 1984, and has been dry farmed since its planting. As of 2014 the vineyard has been farmed fully organically with no chemicals sprayed on the vines and soil. The soils are a mixture of decomposed granite and clay with south-west facing slope on altitude of 920 feet.

The fruit was handpicked Stompie’s palate looking for really bright acidity and structure in early January. The fruit was whole-bunch basket pressed at a very low pressure direct to 16hL concrete egg. There the fermentation kicked off with the gross lees in perpetual motion throughout the fermentation and then moving throughout the wine during the aging. After 16 months the wine was sent directly to the bottling line without fining, filtration or SO2 additions.

Johan Meyer, AKA “Stompie”, has made a name for himself in the ever-emerging South African wine industry in a very short time. While his namesake ‘Signature’ wines reflect his love of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Stompie is not one to limit himself and thus created the Mother Rock Wines wines in collaboration with his UK importer Ben Henshaw of Indigo Wines.

After seeing market quickly drink up the initial Force Majeure (Celeste in the U.S.) wines, they expanded the offerings to include a label called ‘Mother Rock,’ focused on discovering exceptional parcels of sustainably-farmed vines grown on a variety of soil types. The identity of these two ‘brands’ is rooted deep in the South African wine industry with Chenin Blanc at the root of the whites and field blends of the reds. These are terroir-focused wines made to offer drinkability and enjoyment, and it doesn’t hurt that the labels are beautiful.

Much like the ‘Signature’ wines, he has long-term contracts with some of the best growers in the Southern Cape determined to farm their sites organically. In the winery there is no SO2 added before or during fermentation but it’s a natural element that comes from the vines and you will always end up with some SO2 in the wines. That being said the wines are lightly sulfured before bottling for preservation and stability. Ultimately ‘Mother Rock’ is about showcasing the best and purest expression of South Africa’s diverse terroir.