Naudé Langpad Old Vines Colombard 2021

Wouldn’t it be great if SA wine could replicate its Chenin Blanc achievements with Colombard? While Chenin Blanc is the country’s most widely planted variety, Colombard is second. Of course, both varieties have traditionally been used for distillation purposes but as Chenin has shown, only a small fraction of vineyard is needed to produce an array of fine wines.

The esteemed Ian Naudé has set about making a serious version of Colombard from a 1985 vineyard near Vredendal, the 2021 vintage recently released. The nose is lightly aromatic with notes of guava, lime and herbs while the palate shows pure fruit, racy acidity and a pithy finish. It’s a neat drop but somewhat slighter than the arresting 2020. Price: R325 a bottle.

CE’s rating: 91/100.

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