Langpad

Pairs well with short-fried or grilled langoustines with citrus oil, grilled lobster with fennel, stuffed corn-fed chicken with truffle and girolle mushrooms; with aged hard cheeses.

The 2021 harvest was picked roughly two weeks earlier than the 2020-vintage (which was picked a week later than “normal”) due to sudden a heat wave. Typical days in that area are hot to very hot, with evenings cooling down dramatically. As there is no mountains or hills in that area, a salty air blows in from the ocean - roughly 35km away – during the evening. This creates a fogginess that lingers during the night and when the sun rises the next morning, a Kelpy seaspray gets left behind and eventually gets dried by the hot sun on the vines.

Picked in small crates, from the truck and straight into whole-bunch pressing. Natural fermentation started after about 3 days. Thereafter wine was kept on the lees for as long as possible, because that is where the “magic” happens as complex flavours and texture develops. Because nature has already done the work, the winemaking process is kept as natural as possible with minimal interference.

Naudé Wines is the culmination of a journey that began more than 30 years ago. Since that first harvest I’ve worked all over the world hoping to craft wines that tell a story of time and place. I love the diversity we have in South Africa. Not just of the people but the soils the microclimates and the wine varietals that thrive under their own unique conditions. I’m fortunate to have been introduced to a few of these vineyards and work with some of the wonderful grapes that they produce many of these from certified old vines. The grapes on these vines are storied complex and unique. Each year they represent something different – whatever nature allows them – and with any luck I don’t get in the way.