Stark-Conde Oude Nektar 2017

97+ pts Greg Sherwood MW July 2021

This utterly seductive wine is a bottling of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec. Despite the salt and pepper additions, this is a wonderfully pure classical Cabernet Sauvignon with archetypal aromatics of pressed violets and tilled earth, crushed gravel, graphite, freshly brewed espresso and sweet cedary spice. There is an irony, bloody, iodine and black olive complexity that lends that extra dimension to the wine making it just that little bit more special. The palate is pinpoint 2017 elegance personified with piercing fresh acids, powder puff tannins, weightless saline black currant and black cherry fruit concentration and a wonderfully long, harmonious finish of melted Belgian chocolates, salty kelp, black liquorice and warm buttered brown toast. Just quite simply spellbinding. Drink now and over the next 15+ years. (Only 4,617 bottles produced)

97 pts Winemag.co.za July 2020

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’

97 pts Tim Atkin MW 2020

What a wine! What a vintage! And to think that this stunning site between 550 and 600 metres was replanted after a fire as recently as 2009. Marrying Cabernet Sauvignon with 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec, it’s one of the great Cape reds. Far from a blockbuster, it’s nuanced and refreshing, with incredible perfume of fynbos and cut grass, fine-boned tannins and a long, stony finish. 2023-2032

5 Stars 2021 Platter’s south African Wine Guide

Cabernet from farm’s highest vineyard (550m) with drops of petit verdot & merlot. Majestic 17 (96 pts) supercedes 16 (94 pts) with intense cassis & black cherry fruit, dark chocolate-orange richness enhanced by 70% new oak. Supremely elegant, with fresh acidity & svelte tannins.

93 pts Wine enthusiast #92 Top 100 Cellar Selections 2021

This wine, sourced from a high-elevation site, leads with earthy aromas of fresh mentholated herbs, raw tobacco leaf and licorice root partnered with snappy currant and blackberry liqueur tones. The palate is plush and robust from first sip, with big, gripping tannins that are tight and structured, framing the skin-driven black fruit flavors and fueling the length and astringency on the finish. Additional earthy tones of cigar box spice and chicory root unfold on the back of the close. Drink 2027–2033.