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. ‘Force Celeste’ comes from the Latin ‘caelestis’ meaning ‘heavenly sky.’ It refers to the greater force out there that gives unique variation from year to year. The 2022 vintage comes from an older block than past vintages; the Cinsault was planted in 1976 on ferricrete in the Malmesbury reginon of the Swartland.
The bunches were hand-picked in mid-January and left fully intact to be lightly whole-bunch pressed to stainless steel and an old 500L French oak puncheon. Fermentation commenced without any additions and with full gross lees in barrel. After four weeks, the wine was dry, and it was racked to old French oak for 12 months of aging. The barrels were then racked to tank and the wine was bottled without fining or filtration and just a small addition of sulfur.