Moya Meaker Riesling Elgin South Africa 2021

In the words of proprietor and winemaker Jean Smit, Elgin is "a valley in the sky." It is a lofty plateau hemmed in by mountains, covered by a blanket of clouds, cooled by ocean breezes, and couched in soils of shale over clay. This wine haven is in South Africa's Cape South Coast region and produces some of the country's most celebrated Pinot Noirs, Rieslings, and Chardonnays. Jean did quite a bit of exploration before settling in Elgin. His pilgrimages include explorations to New World Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Riesling sanctuaries like Marlborough and Russian River Valley while also spending time with the famed Burgundian-trained winemaker Stéphane Ogier (Domaine M&S Ogier) in Côte Rotie. This tapestry of life experiences makes him distinctly qualified for the task of painting the Elgin story, using these cool climate cultivars as his palette.

Jean's inspiration for his brand is an unlikely muse for a wine nerd. Moya Meaker was a beauty queen - Miss South Africa 1959. That was her claim to fame for a moment in time. But her legacy as a mother, a wife, a friend, and a servant of the community left a lasting impression on Jean. She was a force of nature who sought beauty in the overlooked and found joy amidst trial. Her spirit lives on through the people she strengthened; every wine produced in the Moya Meaker range aims to honor her spirit.

You won't find a stainless-steel tank anywhere in the Moya Meaker cellar. For fermentation, the winemaking team uses only a combination of conical concrete tanks (constructed from sand and pebbles sourced from the Brenta River in the foothills of the Alps) as well as Stockinger foudres, crafted from a mix of tight-grained Austrian and German oak. The cellar also holds a range of 300-litre French and Austrian oak barrels, strictly for maturation purposes. With these tools, Jean has created a Riesling worth praising! This classically styled cool-climate Riesling offers a tidy vanguard of green apple, chalk dust, and a burst of jasmine. The palate carries stone fruit and Seville orange, neatly sewn up by a supremely lengthy crystalline seam of fresh lime, white grapefruit pith, and tart acidity. Simply delicious.