Full Stop Rock

Pairs delightfully with grilled red meats or game, making it a classic braai accompaniment. Also stands up well to rich stews, charcuterie, and strong cheeses.

Grapes are planted on the lower slopes and plateau of Upper Hemel‑en‑Aarde Valley (225–245 m altitude) on porphyritic granite with abundant stone fragments. This “jagged landscape” favors robust Rhône varietals—Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre—which delve deep to find nutrients and exhibit invigorating, compact fruit, spice, and tannin profiles.

Matures for 12 months in 500 L Burgundian barrels crafted from tight-grain oak—slow toasted at low temperature. Only 5% is new oak, ensuring subtle oak integration. After barrel aging, the wine spends another 6 months ageing in stainless steel.

Hand-picked fruit is chilled overnight to 8 °C, destemmed, and cold-macerated (5–7 days). Spontaneous indigenous yeast fermentation follows, with some whole-bunch inclusion. After 25 days of skin contact, the wine is pressed, undergoes full malolactic fermentation, and is matured on fine lees. No fining or filtration occurs before bottling.

Newton Johnson Vineyards is owned and managed by the Newton Johnson family. The farm is based in the upper Hemel en Aarde Valley near the seaside town of Hermanus an hour and a half’s drive out of Cape Town. This is a popular tourist destination famous for some of the most spectacular land-based whale watching in the world lush indigenous fynbos a floral kingdom home to 1500 species and exclusive to the Cape mountain walks and bike trails. Led by Dave a Cape Wine Master with a thesis on Pinot Noir and his wife Felicity (nee Newton) the Newton Johnson family moved to the Upper Hemel en Aarde Valley in 1995 built a cellar and started planting vines shortly thereafter. This enthusiasm for wine and Pinot noir in particular was passed on to and eagerly adopted by his sons Bevan and Gordon. They in turn have taken this family cellar and vineyards to new heights in exploring the nuances of this grape and their vineyards.