Description
The 2023 The Field Blend is a harmonious and complex white wine made from a blend of 54% Roussanne, 30% Chenin Blanc, 9% Verdelho, and 7% Viognier, sourced from a single vineyard in the Jonkershoek Valley. The wine is barrel fermented, with a small portion aged in concrete egg to add depth and body. Aged for 9 months in barrel and tank with regular lees stirring, this wine is handled as naturally as possible, with minimal intervention, including light fining and filtration.
This wine is led by Roussanne, which imparts a beautiful mouthfeel, light floral perfume, and a fine texture on the palate. It offers a unique complexity, with notes of minerality, floral, pear, and white peach, showcasing the vineyard’s diverse soils and the ancient winemaking tradition that inspires it.
Food Pairing:
Pairs well with a variety of dishes, including pork, game (deer, venison), shellfish, spicy food, poultry, lean fish, and mild and soft cheeses, as well as fruity desserts.
Reviews
Tim Atkin 94
Located right next to the entrance, the 2.8-hectare block that’s the source of this wine is intriguing. The 2023 release is a cuvee of Roussanne, 30% Chenin Blanc, 20% Verdelho and 8% Viognier. Waxy, spicy, concentrated yet fresh, it has pear, citrus and peach skin flavours and added complexity from concrete egg, amphora and 10% new oak components. [Tim Atkin MW, 03/09/2024]
Anticipated maturity: 2024-2032
Decanter 95
[Decanter, 19/06/2024]
Greg Sherwood 94+
A perennial favourite in the Stark Conde white range, this impressive 2023 is a blend of 42% Roussanne, 30% Chenin Blanc, 20% Verdelho, and 8% Viognier. Fermented in neutral oak, the aromatics are stunningly pure and precise, boasting notes of dry summer hay, crunchy white pears, green apple, pithy white citrus, and complexing stony granitic mineral notes. On the palate the wine is strikingly fresh and intense, deliciously mouthwatering displaying a notable concentration of white peach and green pear fruits, with a beautifully crystalline purity, perfectly integrated tangy acids and a long, juicy finish. As with many field blend wines, the whole is simply greater than the sum of its parts, with each component marrying seamlessly to create a truly majestic, organically certified white blend. This is good to go on release but will certainly reward 3 to 5+ years of additional ageing in bottle. [Greg Sherwood MW, 01/03/2024]
JancisRobinson.com 16/20
Dusty, acacia-pollen nose; watercolour traces of honey, angelica, ginger, dill. A geometry of acidity and so salty it’s like rolling sea-glass pebbles in your mouth. Comes back to brisk, taut, tensile tektite-tumblestone apple and greengage. The leanest, hungriest, most austere of the Field Blends I’ve tasted. [Tamlyn Currin, 24/02/2024]
Producer Profile
This signature wine is the bedrock of Stark-Conde, showcasing the excellence of the Jonkershoek Valley. Blended with traditional Bordeaux varietals, it reveals rich blackberry fruit aromas, complemented by tea-leaf and cedar wood notes. The palate is polished and full of dark fruit and mocha flavors, with balanced acidity and a long finish, highlighted by the fine tannins typical of the valley. Aged for 20 months in French oak (30% new), this wine is bottled without fining or filtration.
