The first bottlings under the Stark-Condé label were in 1998, although the Oude Nektar farm – on which the vineyards are planted – dates back to the 1600s. The Jonkershoek Valley is a magical part of Stellenbosch – it feels wild and is certainly less “manicured” than the Simonsberg sub-region – and is home to the most incredible nature reserve. The Oude Nektar estate itself is a wonderfully biodiverse ecosystem, managed organically, with approximately 40ha of vines and 200ha of indigenous vegetation. At an elevation of between 540m and 600m, the single vineyard that makes this wine is one of Stellenbosch’s highest elevation vineyards. As well as benefiting from cool south-easterly breezes from False Bay, it receives almost 45 minutes more direct sunlight than the Stellenbosch average.
This wine is currently flying under the radar, but the precision and elegance of Rüdger van Wyk’s touch in the winery (Jancis Robinson calls him a “champion winemaker”) is increasingly being recognised. The 2019 is of course young and tightly-coiled right now, but has huge intensity and purity, vivid freshness and serious, compact fine-grained tannins. We would suggest waiting until at least 2025 before opening.
