2022 Mother Rock 'Force Celeste' Cinsault Swartland

Winemaker Notes: A lifted, light red with ripe tannins, depth, and drinkability from whole bunch fermentation. As always, there is a gentle rusticity that peeks through layers of red fruits. Very pure and bright this vintage.

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 the market quickly drink up the initial Force Celeste wines (formerly known as Force Majure), 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 his eponymous 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.

The ‘Mother Rock’ series of wines is all about showcasing the nuance and greatness of the Swartland through a very minimalist touch of Johan Meyer, AKA ‘Stompie.’ Cinsault is the grape that in many ways embodies the ‘new’ Swartland, one that is highlighted in its best light with a gentle touch, picking early to preserve acidity and not covering up the elegance of the grape with oak. The 2022 vintage saw a shift from a Malmesbury site to one on the Paardeberg, made up entirely of decomposed granite soils which add a distinguished freshness and vibrancy to the wine. The grapes are handpicked across two weeks and were wild yeast fermented entirely whole-cluster in concrete tanks with just gentle hand plunging for four weeks and an additional two weeks on skins/stems post-fermentation. The wine remained in concrete for twelve months of aging. After that point, the wine was blended and bottled without fining or filtration and just a very small addition of sulfur.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM


Decanter - "Made by 'natural' winemaking enthusiast Johan 'Stompie' Meyer from dryland bush vines in the granitic Paardeberg. Crushed earthenware, red cherries and red flowers uncoil to a more opulent palate than the 12% alcohol would suggest. Juicy, and flushed with red berry tang, dusty tannins taper to the finish. Whole-bunch pressed, naturally fermented in concrete (no additives) and then further aged in the same vessel for 10 months, bottled unfiltered and unfined."