Kara-Tara is the personal project of Rudger van Wyk, the brilliantly talented young winemaker at Stark-Conde. Made from a combination of Elgin, Durbanville and Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge fruit, it’s an appealing, medium weight Pinot Noir with redcurrant and pomegranate flavours and some texture and spice from 15% whole bunches, 2021-25.
Kara-Tara Pinot Noir is a new joint-venture between Rudger van Wyk (2018 Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year) and José Conde of Stark-Condé Wines.
The name Kara-Tara refers to a small town near Knysna, where winemaker Rudger van Wyk grew up. Translated from the traditional Khoisan, it means “deep dark shadows” and refers to the Karatara river that runs through the town.
Grapes are sourced from carefully-selected premium vineyards in the Elgin region. An elegant, lightly-wooded style of Pinot Noir showing classic strawberry and red cherry notes coupled with a hint of spice. A firm, yet silky-smooth tannin-structure supports the lovely bright fruit characteristics of the wine.
For this Pinot Noir, I have combined grapes from three distinct cool-climate vineyards in the Western Cape. WesternCape is a designation not often used for fine wine but I feel that bringing diverse components together can increase complexity if done properly. TECHNICAL DETAILS Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir, mix of Dijon clones Fruit source: Elgin, Overberg, Durban ville Yield: 7 tons/hectare Alcohol: 13.0% Total Acid: 5.2 Residual sugar: 2.09 Age of Vines: 16 years Vineyard Elevation: 255-305m This wine has the classic strawberry and cherry fruit you’d expect from Pinot Noir with a touch of peppery spice. The weather was moderate during the harvest and produced grapes of low sugar levels and good natural acidity. The Overberg vineyards bring a classic strawberry fruit pro.file, while the vineyards in Elgin add structure. The Durbanville vineyards give an alluring perfume. All grapes were hand-picked into small lug-boxes; half of the grapes were destemmed and given hand punch-downs and the other half in closed tanks done with pump-overs. About 20% of the wine was whole-bunch fermented. Barrel matured for 14 months in French oak, primarily 2nd, 3rd and 4th-fill and about 10% new oak.
I work with grape growers in various coolclimate regions because this allows me to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Each vineyard is unique. I am looking for grapes that bring freshness and elegance to the final wine.” Rudger van Wyk (b. 1991) has a degree in Oenology from Stellenbosch University. Upon graduation, he was selected for the prestigious Cape Winemakers’ Guild Protege program where he apprenticed in top Cape cellars such as Nitida and Kanonkop. He also did a harvest at Domaine Jacob in Burgundy, which inspired his passion for Chardonnay. Rudger is currently the winemaker of Stark-Conde Wines in Stellenbosch. Rudger was born and raised in George, where the Karatara river is located. Rudger was the 2018 Diner’s Club Young Winemaker of the Year.
