Momento is the solo project of the dynamic, Mediterranean-variety-loving Marelise. She has worked in California, the Rhône, Burgundy, and Portugal, and her fascination with (old vine) Grenache was sparked in 2010 while in Priorat with Eben Sadie. On her return to South Africa, she began seeking out parcels of old-vine Grenache to make her own wines. In 2011 she bought her first parcel of grapes (sharing a vineyard in the north of the Swartland with Donovan Rall), but it was in 2013 that she founded her own label, with two barrels of Grenache. She now makes wines from all three Grenaches – Noir, Blanc, and Gris – and in 2023 was named Tim Atkin’s “Young Winemaker of the Year”. Her labels are hand-drawn by her artist husband Hennie Niemann Jnr. If you look closely, you can see it is an old vine with various personal characters worked into it. Her 2021 Grenache is pale and perfumed, so light you would be forgiven for mistaking it for Pinot; capturing and bottling the ethereal side of Grenache has always been her aim. A joyful wine.