Ian Naudé

Winemaker Ian Naudé has earned himself a reputation as one of South Africa's leading blending specialists. He focusses on combining the best qualities of New World wines, with the classic elegance and complexity of Old World wines. "I have been making wine for the last 20 years and have been fortunate enough to work in many wine countries around the world, from the USA (Napa and Washington State) to France, Germany, Israel, and Italy. I have also been lucky enough to visit some of the best wineries and taste some of the greatest wines of the world. This led to my decision to aim for my own signature style of wines. I love to blend and create a specific style of wine, one that I would love to drink myself. I also strive to create wines which reflect the best of both the old and new worlds. South Africa is blessed with such diverse terroirs that we can elegantly balance our blends, harmoniously combining the complexity, restraint and ageing potential of the old world with the fruit-driven structure of the new world." IAN NAUDÉ

From a 35-year-old Darling vineyard. Red cherry and cranberry plus a very attractive herbal character and a hint of earthiness. The palate is extraordinarily light and fresh with very fine tannins. Minimal interference during the winemaking process to let this old vineyard tell its own story. A very pretty rendition of the variety.

Works quite well in pairings with stews, braised and roasted meat dishes like beef, lamb, goat, beef, duck, chicken and pork.

Picked in small crates and left overnight in cold room to bring temperature down to roughly 10 degrees Celsius • The challenge is to interpret the current vintage conditions in order to balance whole bunch, destemming of grapes and adding stalks (tannins). • A combination of whole bunch, destemmed grapes and stalks go into a stainless steel tank and left until natural fermentation starts • One to two soft pump overs per day and left for roughly 2 weeks, pressed and wine transferred into older 225L French oak barrels (minimum oxidation during the process) • Barrel aging commences for 12 – 15 months