Wine Tasting

The beautiful Stark Conde winery is located in the scenic Jonkershoek Valley ward of the Stellenbosch region and up until 2023, the wines were produced by Cabernet Sauvignon magician, Rudger van Wyk, now head winemaker at Doolhof Winery in nearby Wellington. I often state that a winery’s quality and ambition can be most easily measured by the quality of their entry level offerings, and for the Stark Conde winery, their Estate Cabernet Sauvignon forms one of the most important wines in their range as well as one of their most enticing offerings when you consider quality and price.

Owner Jose Conde and the Stark Conde Winery often describe themselves first and foremost as a premium Cabernet Sauvignon producer and of course why wouldn’t you when your vineyards are situated on some of the most attractive Cabernet-friendly Stellenbosch terroir in the entire Western Cape. So it is always interesting to taste and assess their new Estate Blend Cabernet Sauvignon release as any winery is only as good as its most modestly priced wine. With the release of their phenomenal 2021 vintage (96/100 GSMW) selling out incredibly quickly, all eyes were immediately focused on the follow-up 2022 vintage offering.

The 2022 vintage in the Jonkershoek Valley, Stellenbosch, produced high-quality, elegant wines, particularly noted for a sense of freshness, brightness, and well-structured, fruit complexity, often with a slightly lighter, more refined style in reds and vibrant, crisp acidities in the whites. The cooler, more sheltered nature of the Jonkershoek Valley, combined with Stellenbosch’s consistently mild conditions in 2022, allowed for excellent natural acidity retention and intense flavour development.

Stark Conde Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, WO Jonkershoek Valley, 14% Abv.

This 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon is yet another blinder from Stark Conde. The lift, aromatics and perfume seem that much more expressive, showing a piercing fragrance of pressed violets, sweet baking cloves, salted black liquorice and sappy cedar before darker, broodier notes of damson plum and crème de cassis. The palate is delightfully supple and soft, impressively elegant and accessible at this youthful stage, yet utterly enticing as the salty black currant and black cherry waves of fruit wash over the palate before leaving a stony, graphite mineral-tinged finish. Another real beauty of a wine that has all the swagger and sophistication you’d expect from this dynamic Jonkershoek Valley estate. Drink now until 2040+.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Stark Conde wines are imported into the UK by South African specialist merchant Museum Wines. Release price is approximately £110 IB per 6 excluding duty and VAT.

Yesterday, London played host to The New Douro Tasting featuring a broad cross section of still and Port wine producers.

Of particular interest were once again the brilliant wines of Dirk Niepoort. It just seems Dirk can do no wrong and any vinous venture he embarks on is destined for inevitable greatness.

Sophia Bergqvist of Quinta de la Rosa with Dirk Niepoort

But a real stand out wine for me was one of his classics, the Niepoort Redoma Branco Reserva 2015, which I later discovered chatting to Dirk, is a wine he considers his best effort yet. First produced in 1995, there have been many profound versions, none more so than the 1999 vintage, of which I drank my last treasured bottle of around two years ago.

The Redoma Reserva is made with grapes from ancient 80 years old vines, planted at an altitude of 600 metres in mica schist soils. Since its creation in 1995, the main aim of producing this wine has been to express the character of the Douro old vineyards.

At the end of the ageing period, the best barrels are selected, considering their minerality, complexity and ageing potential and not necessarily those with the most expressive aromas.

Tasting Note: The 2015 Redoma Branco Reserva is monumental. It’s loaded with dusty granitic sweet mineral lemon pastille fruits with a solid undertone of wet chalk, pithy green apples, honey dew melon and crunchy tart white peaches. The acids are beguiling, adding freshness, electric vibrancy and a real frame over which the intense fruit concentration is majestically draped. The full, textured palate finishes long and broad with a beautifully complexity of green caramelised figs and yellow citrus. This really is a sterling effort and certainly one for the cellar. Yet another super Dirk Niepoort triumph. (Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)