From the atlas
Stark-Condé Wines
At A Glance
Stark-Condé Wines is a family-run estate at Oude Nektar Farm in Stellenbosch’s Jonkershoek Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is its central grape, shaped here by elevated vineyards, decomposed granite and iron-rich red soils, winter rainfall and southeast breezes. That combination allows Cabernet to ripen slowly while holding acidity, and it also gives the estate room for high-elevation Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Syrah, Petite Sirah and a mixed white planting.
The farm covers 600 acres, but only 85 acres are under vine. Eighty percent remains rugged, undeveloped terrain supporting indigenous plant species, so the planted blocks sit within a much larger valley landscape rather than across a continuous carpet of vineyard.
The Producer
The Stark-Condé name joins two family names: Stark, from Hans Schroder’s mother Franziska Stark, and Conde, from José Conde’s Cuban-born father. Conde began making wine in 2000 with Cabernet Sauvignon from his father-in-law’s Jonkershoek Valley vines. Cabernet remains the thread through the range: the Stellenbosch bottling draws on several estate blocks, while Three Pines and Oude Nektar narrow the focus to individual higher sites.
José Conde trained as a graphic designer and once intended to establish a Cape Town studio. He still designs the wine labels himself. That visual continuity runs alongside a cellar built around estate fruit, French oak and wines generally bottled without fining or filtration.
Place
Jonkershoek Valley is a Stellenbosch address, placing Stark-Condé within one of South Africa’s important Cabernet regions while giving it a cooler, elevated valley setting. Winter rainfall replenishes the vineyards, and southeast breezes moderate the growing season. Cabernet can therefore take its time on the vine, building dark fruit and tannin without losing the acidity that keeps the palate moving.
Elevation also separates the labels. Three Pines Cabernet comes from a 350-metre vineyard, while Oude Nektar Cabernet comes from the estate’s highest Cabernet block at 550 metres. The names on those bottles are not decorative: they point to distinct vineyard conditions and increasingly site-specific expressions of the same principal grape.
Soil And Site
Decomposed granite is central to the higher Cabernet sites. At Three Pines, granite, cooler temperatures and winter rainfall are associated with floral character and silky tannins. Oude Nektar grows on stony decomposed granite with an afternoon-sun aspect; the sun extends ripening, while breezes keep the site from simply producing heavy fruit.
Elsewhere, iron-rich red soils and river stones add contrast across the farm. The Stellenbosch Cabernet gathers fruit from four blocks with different soils and aspects, so its broader blend combines the black-fruited core of Cabernet with the variation built into the property. Syrah has a river-stone-strewn vineyard of its own, a physical setting behind its separate place in the range.
Story
Hans and Midori Schroder bought Oude Nektar Farm in 1989 and initially concentrated on growing grapes. Their daughter Marie later returned to South Africa with José Conde, who arrived with a designer’s training rather than a cellar apprenticeship. The family already had Cabernet vines; Conde’s decision to make wine from them turned a grape-growing farm into an estate with its own bottles.
That origin still directs the work. Stark-Condé makes just over 8,000 cases a year, enough for an estate Cabernet assembled from several blocks but also for smaller bottlings that isolate Three Pines, Oude Nektar and a 22-row Syrah block. The range moves from farm-wide blends to individual parcels because the vineyards supply material worth separating.
Vineyards And Cellar
The estate practices organic farming, though completed estate-wide organic certification should not be assumed. In the cellar, natural yeasts, open-top fermentation for reds and manual punchdowns favour contact between fermenting juice and skins. For Cabernet, that work is aimed at extracting colour, fruit and tannin with enough texture to carry long oak ageing.
Red wines can spend as long as 22 months in French oak and are generally bottled unfined and unfiltered. The 2020 Estate Blend, for example, spent 20 months in 300-litre French oak barrels, around 30% new. The result is a Cabernet-led wine with oak-derived spice and weight, while the decision not to fine or filter helps retain a fuller palate and firm structural grip.
White wines use a different register. Round Mountain Sauvignon Blanc and Monk Stone Chenin Blanc are fermented or matured mainly in older neutral French oak, which softens texture without turning the wines into overtly oaky whites. The Field Blend Estate White receives delicate oak handling so its ripe, textured grapes can remain connected to freshness.
Wines
Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon is the estate-level red: Cabernet Sauvignon blended with traditional Bordeaux varieties from across the farm. In 2020, the mix was 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Malbec. Expect a more layered red than a single-variety Cabernet alone, with dark fruit, floral lift, oak spice, tannin and a long finish.
Three Pines Cabernet Sauvignon takes Cabernet to the 350-metre granite site, where the producer notes floral notes and silky tannins. Oude Nektar Cabernet Sauvignon is the higher, stonier 550-metre expression, a Bordeaux-style blend aged for about 20 months in French oak, 70% new. Its longer sunlit ripening and higher new-oak share point toward deeper fruit, firmer tannin and more oak spice.
The reds continue with Stellenbosch Syrah, co-fermented in small part with Viognier and Roussanne for aromatics and finely textured tannin; Three Pines Syrah from just 22 rows; and Petite Sirah, a distinct grape with intense colour, high acidity and robust tannin. Lingen Red Blend comes from a 1.5-hectare walled clos dominated by Syrah, bringing aromatic fruit, a rich palate and softer tannins.
Round Mountain Sauvignon Blanc offers concentrated fruit and natural acidity from a high-elevation block. Monk Stone Chenin Blanc combines cooler slopes and granite with neutral oak for a fresh, mineral-edged profile. Field Blend Estate White plants Roussanne, Viognier, Chenin Blanc and Verdelho together in one block: the first two supply body and texture, while Chenin and Verdelho bring bright fruit and acidity.
In The Glass
Across the Cabernet wines, look first for black fruit, floral notes and French-oak spice, then for the way acidity and tannin shape the palate. The estate blend should feel broader through the middle because it combines four blocks and Bordeaux varieties; Three Pines shifts toward floral perfume and silkier tannin; Oude Nektar carries more weight, grip and oak from its high, sunny granite site and 70% new French oak.
The white wines provide a useful counterpoint. Round Mountain Sauvignon Blanc should show concentrated fruit with brisk natural acidity, while Monk Stone Chenin Blanc carries freshness through neutral-oak texture rather than obvious vanilla or toast. In the Field Blend Estate White, Roussanne and Viognier add body, Chenin and Verdelho sharpen the fruit, and delicate oak extends the finish without covering the grape mix.
A Bottle To Understand It
Start with Stark-Condé Stellenbosch Cabernet Sauvignon. It is the estate’s broadest Cabernet statement: fruit from four blocks, a Cabernet-led Bordeaux blend, 20 months in French oak and bottling without fining or filtration. The 2020 composition gives Cabernet the dark-fruit centre, Petit Verdot extra colour and tannin, Cabernet Franc aromatic lift, and Malbec additional fruit weight. Expect black fruit, floral notes, spice, firm tannin and a long, textured finish. It introduces the farm before the single-vineyard bottles narrow the view.
Anecdote
In 2000, José Conde was preparing for a different life in Cape Town. He was a graphic designer and had intended to open a studio, but after moving to South Africa with his wife Marie he became interested in wine. Her father, Hans Schroder, was growing Cabernet Sauvignon at Oude Nektar Farm, so Conde tried making a Cabernet with basic equipment. The maiden vintage produced only 2,400 bottles. It received five stars in the Platters Wine Guide, a 92-point rating from Wine Spectator, and was selected by Oz Clarke among his Top 20 Wines of the Year. Conde continued making the wines, and the graphic designer who made that first Cabernet still designs every Stark-Condé label.
Final Word
Stark-Condé is easiest to understand through Cabernet Sauvignon: one estate blend assembled across Oude Nektar, then higher single-vineyard bottlings that bring granite, elevation, ripening and oak into sharper view. The whites and Syrahs show that the same valley can also produce acidity, perfume and texture beyond Cabernet’s dark-fruited frame.
Sources
- https://stark-conde.co.za/our-story/
- https://wineinternationalassociation.org/stark-conde/
- https://www.vineyardbrands.com/producer.aspx?id=43
- https://stark-conde.co.za/our-wines/
- https://gregsherwoodmw.com/2024/03/01/stark-conde-winery-blazing-a-trail-with-their-premium-cabernet-sauvignon-in-the-jonkershoek-valley-tasting-the-new-release-2020-estate-blend/