It’s Really All About The Vineyards

Originally from Spain and named after the Spanish city, Murviedro, Mourvèdre is known as the signature varietal in France`s Bandol region and is also used in the Languedoc and Southern Rhône as part of their red blends.

It is a later ripening variety that enjoys dry, warm and sunny conditions. For this reason, our Mourvèdre is planted as bush vines to harness the heat units from the earth, when temperatures drop in the evenings. It is also a wind-resistant vine, therefore it is unnecessary for us to give them trellis support, as we do with our windswept Sauvignon blanc vines, for example.

We use regenerative farming methods and adhere to Old World, sustainable practices in our vineyards to ensure that the vines are nourished and in balance. Our soils are free of chemicals and are kept healthy by using plant extracts, fungi and bacteria from our own organic compost.

The two single vineyard blocks are approximately four kilometers from the sea and are planted at a height of between 270 and 300 meters above sea level. The soils are of sandstone origin with medium sized stones, helping with drainage. The yield for this vintage was on average just 2 tons per hectare.

A Gentle Hand

We follow a ‘less is more’, minimal intervention winemaking philosophy for all our wines and the grapes are tasted at regular intervals to determine optimal ripeness and flavour development.

We pick our grapes early in the mornings, when they are still cool, which helps to preserve the flavours.

The red varieties are sorted and placed into wooden fermenters using a gravity-flow system. We do natural whole-bunch fermentation for all our Rhône varieties and believe that tannins should be extracted slowly and gently during the fermentation process. To achieve this, we stomp the grapes twice a day with our feet instead of using a machine or doing pump overs. The wine then spends roughly one month on the skins, after which it is run down via gravity and the skins are pressed in a basket press.

Malolactic fermentation also takes place naturally in barrel, without the addition of bacteria. Our Mourvèdre was aged in older 600L French barrels for about 33 months.

In keeping with our philosophy of minimum intervention, this wine was not fined and only underwent a basic filtration prior to bottling, to ensure that it can be enjoyed in its purest form. No additions of enzymes or acid are allowed.

And A Few Prayers To Mother Nature – 2020/2021 Growing Season

South Africa’s Western Cape is privileged to have a vast array of soils and climates, all within a relatively small area. Here at Waterkloof it is no different in our amphitheater of vineyards.

This vintage harks back to the old-normal, which is great. A cold, wet winter. Warm spring and summer, without excessively high temperatures. The famously ferocious winds of Waterkloof have played their usual hand, naturally controlling yield and fungal disease such as mildew. Perfect. In 2021, we were picking everything at well over a hundred days from flowering. We saw very high acid levels during this vintage because of these cooler growing conditions. As with all years we had to spend a lot of time in the vineyards tasting to determine optimal ripeness and find a good balance.

We were happy to see slow ripening in the vineyards which always goes hand in hand with good quality.

The last vintage similar was the great 1997

A Tasting Note From The Glass Of Nadia Langenegger

A bold and expressive Mourvèdre with deep aromas of black plum, dried herbs, and cracked pepper, layered with hints of leather and smoked meat. The palate is full-bodied and structured, showing ripe dark fruit, earthy undertones, and a touch of spice. Fine tannins and a savory finish reflect both the grape’s Mediterranean roots and Stellenbosch’s coastal influence. A wine with rustic charm and aging potential. This would pair well with Beef brisket or short ribs braised in red wine

The Numbers (7000 bottles made):

Alc 14

RS 2.5

TA 4.5

VA 0.7

pH 3.9