94 pts Greg Sherwood MW Sept 2024 The wines from the 2023 vintage continue to surprise with their exceptional quality and concentration, and this impressively complex Chenin Blanc from Stark Conde is no exception. The aromatics are intricate and wonderfully expressive, packed with hints of white peach, green honeydew melon, Granny Smith apples and delicate sweet citrus notes over subtle savoury fresh fennel root and dried herb nuances. The palate is particularly mouthwatering and tangy, bright acids well balanced by the vibrant white peach and yellow apple pastille fruit concentration. A wine that always spends almost a year on its fine lees, the palate showing the resulting textural depth and breadth, finishing with great intensity, energy and a tangy fruit persistence. Another masterclass in serious Chenin Blanc from the Jonkershoek Valley’s most revered winery. Drink on release and over the next 6 to 8 years.4 ½ Stars 2025 John Platter’s South African Wine Guide Named for dramatic boulder in high-altitude terraced vineyard 3rd vintage (94 pts) partly wholebunch fermented, treads lightly yet confidently, its white peach, green fig & apple underpinned with fine, cool minerality & flesh from 9 months lees-ageing in barrel. Bottle unfiltered for a hint of tannin.93 pts Tim Atkin MW 2024 Monk Stone uses grapes from a cool, south-facing site close to Stark-Condé’s Jonkershoek Valley base and is suitably chiselled, focused and refreshing. Subtly barrel fermented in 10% new barrels, it’s taut and almost Chablis-like, with wax and citrus zest flavours and a fennel undertone. 2025-3091 pts Decanter World Wine Awards 2024 Lemon verbena nuance to apricot and nartjie aromas. Crunchy and fruit driven with good body.
