Description
The 2020 Naudé Old Vines Oupa Willem is a beautifully crafted red blend of 82% Cinsault, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc, sourced from the Darling and Stellenbosch regions. The wine presents a vibrant clarity of red cherry and ruby plum in the glass. On the nose, expect a complex bouquet of sun-dried cranberry, red cherries, sandalwood, nori seaweed, sweet cedar spice, fynbos, and a touch of crushed granite and graphite minerality. The palate is fresh and tart, with ripe, sweet-fruited flavors that defy the wine’s 11.5% alcohol. The fine, powdery tannins are perfectly balanced by juicy red summer berries, marzipan, and a subtle finish of Turkish delight.
Reviews
JancisRobinson.com 17.5
"80% Cinsault, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc. Green bean, green pepper, redcurrants and crackling with energy. Ultra-fine tannins that feel like the light from a red stained-glass window. A slender wine, graceful, gliding on sour-cherry strings. Made in Naude’s sparse style. You can taste that it’s Cinsault leading the blend, with the Cabs just gently framing it." [Tamlyn Currin, 30/06/2023]
Anticipated maturity: 2023-2030
Neal Martin 93
"The 2020 Red Blend Oupa Willem is Naude’s Cinsault/Cabernet blend inspired by wines from the Sixties. It comes from the same block as Werfdans and is matured in used oak barrel. "I don’t have the money for new oak," Naude tells me! With raspberry, briar and light tertiary scents on the nose, this gradually unfolds in the glass, very pure and elegant. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit, fine acidity, and gentle grip; the 15% Cabernet component barely noticeable but lending more backbone to the Cinsault towards the finish. Fine symmetry here, fresh, yet you’re drinking the first chapter of a 15 to 20-year wine." [Neal Martin, 24/08/2022]
Producer Profile
Ian Naudé’s wines are unlike anything else.
His range of wines are made up of esoteric pockets of old and new vines that tell a story about South African heritage. He did so fearlessly, believing that South African wine, if made honestly, and without compromise can come to rival the finest wines in the world. And slowly the international wine cognoscenti have started believing it too, as demonstrated by their rave reviews year-on-year.
