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2021 Momento Chenin Blanc-Verdelho Western Cape

2021 Momento Chenin Blanc-Verdelho Western Cape

94DC
94VN

94

Decanter

Review Date: 01/2024

This blend of two vineyards of Chenin Blanc and two of Verdelho is especially bright and detailed in the celebrated 2021 vintage. Marelise says that harvest was relatively serene and she was able to pick her Verdelho later than usual, and the proportion is higher in 2021 than 2020. The wine is both fresher and firmer than the 2020, with a beautifully delineated set of flavours: ripe Golden Delicious apple, dried apricot, physalis and fresh quince. The palate is concentrated and muscular, framed by an energising, vital acidity and the finish shows remarkable persistence. A distinctive, structured and powerful wine, this shows off the sparkling freshness of granite soils and the power and drive of shale. This is the bread-and-butter of the estate, and Marelise’s best-selling wine in her range. It spends 10 months in oak and is made with low intervention principles. (JM)

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Price: $27.99
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Professional Reviews

94

Vinous

Review Date: 11/2023
The 2022 Chenin Blanc Verdelho is a blend of six vineyards aged 11 months in 20% new oak. The complex nose offers yellow fruit, egg whites, stem ginger and a little honeysuckle, with light fennel scents emerging with time. The harmonious palate has impressive weight, lovely balance and complexity with fennel, orange rind, marmalade and lemongrass towards the engaging finish. It feels very persistent and augurs for long aging in bottle. Superb. (NM)

Staff Reviews

Review Date: 10/2025
Email Aaron
There's a kind of savoriness on the nose that I'm pretty darn sure is mostly from the Chenin Blanc, but on either side of that is some really pretty citrus notes, there's some grapefruit zest, a little bit of dried pineapple, some lemon pith and something that I feel is probably some big barrel notes, rounding out the whole thing. The palate is a little juicy on the very front before getting mid-palate savory, with little touches of soy and a slightly pithy nutty note before then pushing back into the barrel notes and then lingering citrus on the palate the melds in with the barrel notes. Really a pretty wine and definitely worth the price of admission.

Notes

Momento was founded in 2013 while Marelise Niemann was the winemaker at Beaumont Family Wines in Bot River. Since then, she has earned a reputation for producing wines of purity, elegance, and honesty. She works with old vines in both Bot River and the Swartland, following a minimal intervention philosophy that highlights terroir. Marelise is deeply committed to using grape varieties that thrive in South Africa’s climate—those that can withstand low rainfall and high temperatures, naturally integrate with their environment, and require minimal inputs. Varieties like Chenin, Verdelho, and Grenache flourish in these dry, warm conditions. For Marelise, the future lies in working with well-adapted grapes, minimizing energy and water use, and allowing vineyards to thrive with minimal interference.

Product Details

Origin: South Africa

Type/Varietal: Chenin Blanc

SKU: #1903776

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