Mother Rock is a collaboration between rising star South African winemaker Johan Meyer and Ben Henshaw, founder of Indigo Wine, a London-based wine importer. Their focus is on exceptional parcels of dry-farmed bush vines across Swartland. Much like the Natte Valleij Cinsault we featured in our inaugural shipment, it's amazing that some of these parcels still exist.
The demand for Bordeaux reds, led by Cabernet Sauvignon, encouraged some growers to replant. But part of the renaissance of South African wine has been embracing what's been there all along. In a very literal sense, too. Biodiversity is now a key consideration for conscientous producers. It's also about long-overlooked parcels that have stood the test of time.
Take the Mother Rock White. This white blend combines Swartland’s top-performing grape varieties – Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Grenache Blanc, and Semillon – to create a captivating expression of the region and its ancient, diverse soils. It truly could not come from anywhere else – and that's what makes this wine so exciting.
Minimalism is a relatively new BC wine importer, based in Kelowna, led by Rawan Kabra. Their focus is on minimal intervention wines or, as they say, "soulful wines with a pulse." We're so thrilled that they're bringing Mother Rock's wines into the province.
-GM
Tasting Note
Led by Chenin Blanc (41 percent), this shows a complex, expressive nose of honeyed apples and apricot along with orchard blossoms and a subtle nuttiness. What really stands out is the texture – rich, precise, and pithy – from partial skin contact (15% of the blend spent four weeks on skins) followed by aging 14 months on lees in a combination of concrete eggs and neutral 300-litre oak barrels.
Food Pairing
Lobster pasta or lemony roast chicken