“A brilliant little operation this, one of the Cape’s brightest young stars, in a very cool area indeed, the Jonkershoek Valley” is how UK winewriter Jancis Robinson described Stark-Condé and the winery’s unique position within the Cape winelands. Referred to as the “Cape’s answer to Napa Valley,” the Stellenbosch area is home to many of the country’s top wineries, and Stark-Condé has proven itself time and again as a consistent producer of highly rated Cabernets, with many 90+ ratings from Wine Spectator and repeated 5-star ratings in the John Platter South African Wine Guide for their iconic Cabernet Sauvignons.

Stark-Condé is a family-run winery making hand-crafted wines using tried and true traditional methods. Total production is about 10,000 cases, 80% of that being red wines. The family property in Jonkershoek Valley is 250 hectares (±600 acres) with 35 hectares under vine. In addition to being viticulturally ideal, the estate is visually spectacular and attracts visitors from afar. Vineyard elevations range between 150 and 600 metres above sea level, which provides a correspondingly broad range of fruit characteristics.

The soils on the estate are decomposed granite over clay, with a range of textures from light gravel to quite stoney. Jonkershoek Valley is a small ward within Stellenbosch which shows unique characteristics. It is a high winter rainfall area; the historical average is about 1200 mm, nearly double the Stellenbosch average. Jonkershoek Valley is exposed to the South-Easterly winds in the summer, which help to cut down on the incidence of disease and also serves to hold down yields.

Meticulous viticulture, selected harvesting, hand grape-sorting, small-batch fermentation, patient barrel maturation — these are the guiding philosophies behind the wines. The carefully-crafted wines speak with personality of a particular terroir.

All the wines are made in a newly renovated cellar space, with the same exacting, traditional techniques that have been the hallmark of Stark-Condé Wines since its maiden vintage in 1998.

The Three Pines Cabernet Sauvignon and the Three Pines Syrah are considered our flagship wines. Among its numerous awards, Stark-Condé is a 2-time trophy winery for Best New World Cabernet Sauvignon at the Australian Six-Nations wine competition; a 3-time winner of the American Express Trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon at the South African Old Mutual Wine Competition; and the 2013 Trophy winner for Top Winery at the same Competition.