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Mother Rock

2021

‘Liquid Skin’

Chenin Blanc   |   Swartland - South Africa
Shelf Talker Spec Sheet Wine Label Bottle Image

About

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, source fruit here. 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. The fruit was whole-bunch fermented with light foot stomping to get the juice flowing and daily punchdowns for the first ten days of fermentation. There it stayed for eight weeks on stems and skins under a blanket of CO2. It was then basket pressed directly to four 16hL concrete eggs for 12 months of aging on the gross lees. After aging it was racked directly to the bottling line and was bottled without fining, filtration or SO2.

Stats

  • Grapes: 100% Chenin Blanc
  • Vineyard: Waterval Vineyard on the Paardeberg Mountain – farmed by Franziska Wickens
  • Vine Age: 34-years-old
  • Soil Type: Decomposed granitic sand intermixed with fractured clay
  • Viticulture: Practicing Organic – dry-farmed
  • Fermentation: Native – open top in stainless steel (100% whole-bunch - 10 days of pigeage)
  • Skin Contact: 10 days during fermentation - 8 weeks post-fermentation
  • Aging: 12 months in 16hL concrete egg
  • Alcohol: 11.5%
  • Residual Sugar: 2.9 g/L
  • pH: 3.63
  • Total Acidity: 6.2 g/L
  • Total SO2: None added
  • Total Production: 580 cases

Tasting Note

Deep golden orange. Complex aromas of exotic fruits, apricot, honey glazed nuts, and kumquat marmalade. The palate shows more freshness and liveliness than the nose would lead you to believe. Layers of ripe fruit with chalk-like minerality and rampant acidity keep things vivid. This is serious and structured, but also incredibly drinkable.

Press & Reviews

The WineMag

95

"From the same block as Kweperfontein but grapes picked earlier, and the winemaking featuring significant skin contact. Light orange in colour. Attractive aromatics of flowers and fynbos before orange, stone fruit and spice. The palate is elegant and harmonious with good fruit purity, electric acidity, and a super-dry finish. Less severe than previously, this provides a lot of pleasure."

- Christian Eedes
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Producer


Mother Rock

Region


Swartland

Country


South Africa

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