2018 Oude Nektar

Bottle number 3,193 of 3,385. TA 6.2 g/l, pH 3.4. Spontaneous fermentation in small batches, aged in French oak barrels for 20 months. Unfined, unfiltered. When I first tasted this, it was tighter, much more nervous than the other Stark-Condé Cab Savs, more hunched. Three days later, it's still very clenched and mineral dense, like a thick kohl pencil, like pewter-seamed coal. Smoke and black black fruit. Gripping down in on itself, tasting of storm, of ocean-lashed salt-laden wind on fynbos at night. The smell of sweat and earth and rock and soil trammelled by rain. A wine heavy, almost troubled, by its own gravitas. (TC)

The 2018 Oude Nektar is made of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon with 10% Petit Verdot and 5% Malbec. The nose offers dark red fruits with hints of green herbal essences and reminds me of a young Bordeaux with a juicy and refined expression. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has fine mineral tension that will remain food-friendly and age like a champ. Don’t be afraid of a little bit of herbaceousness, as the bay leaf and laurel aspect will work well with a wide variety of dishes and cuisine. This comes highly recommended.

Full bottle 1,299 g. 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec, 2% Petite Sirah, 1% Cabernet Franc. Cabernet clones CS46C, CS163C, CS27A, 10C, 1C on 110-Richter and 99-Richter rootstocks. Vine ages: Cabernet Sauvignon 17–29 years across four different vineyards, Petit Verdot 15 years, Malbec 12 years, Petite Sirah 12 years and Cabernet Franc 18 years. All fruit from their Oude Nektar farm, Jonkershoek, on decomposed granite soils, at 200–310 m elevation. Harvest dates: Cabernet Franc, late February; Malbec early March; Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Petite Sirah, mid March. Two-day cold soak, then fermentation for around 10 days with indigenous yeasts. Hand punchdowns every four hours for the first half of fermentation, then every 6–8 hours until dry, when the wine was pressed and racked to barrel for malolactic fermentation and barrel maturation, in 30% new, 300-litre French oak. After 20 months in barrel, bottled without fining or filtration. Technical cork. TA 6 g/l, RS 2 g/l, Total extract 30.6 g/l. 59,965 bottles made. Vegan friendly. Lustrous ruby-purple. Violets, wood smoke and roasted black fruit, with a grilled-meat, savoury character. Juicy blackberries, with peppery, grainy tannins and a spicy, toasty finish. A few rough edges, but nice enough. (TJ)