Stark-Condé Oude Nektar 2017

The drink of the gods.

Oude Nektar is based around the vineyard with the highest elevation on the Stark-Condé property in the Jonkershoek Valley ward of Stellenbosch – at 550 metres one of the highest sites for Cabernet Sauvignon in the area. Originally planted in 2003, it burned down in 2009 and was replanted. Soil is decomposed granite and the south-westerly aspect is such that the vineyard receives almost 45 minutes more direct sunlight than Stellenbosch average.

The resulting wine is based around this site plus small quantities from the best parcels of the other Bordeaux varieties on the property, the 2017 consisting of 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec.  Fermentation occurred spontaneously and maturation lasted 20 months in French oak, 70% new.

It’s a wine of statuesque beauty. On the nose, there’s an attractive leafy note before black fruit and earth while the palate impresses with its purity and structure – great fruit density, bright acidity and crunchy tannins. It demonstrates emphatically that Stellenbosch Cab is capable of some of South Africa’s greatest wines. Price: R820 a bottle.

CE’s rating: 97/100.

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