Cap Classique Nectar by Darling Cellars
£13.49
£17.99 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
Only 3 bottles left
South African sparkling at its most charming. Made the traditional way from 100% Chenin Blanc and aged 16 months on lees, Darling Cellars' Cap Classique Nectar delivers bright green apple, pineapple and citrus zest with a soft biscuit warmth. Perfect for celebrations, sunny afternoons, or simply turning a Tuesday into something special.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
Our Verdict
We love a Cap Classique that proves you don't need a Champagne budget to drink seriously well, and Nectar is exactly that wine. The sixteen months on lees gives it a creamy, biscuity depth you simply don't find at this price, while the Darling fruit keeps everything fresh and lively. This is our go-to recommendation for anyone curious about South African sparkling, or for stocking up ahead of a summer of garden parties and impromptu celebrations. Genuinely one of the best-value bubbles on our list, and the kind of bottle that quietly makes you look clever for finding it.
Tasting Notes
Pale gold in the glass with a fine, persistent bead. The nose lifts with green apple skin, fresh pineapple and a twist of lemon and orange zest, suggesting a sparkling wine with real Cape sunshine behind it. The palate follows through with biscuity, brioche-like depth from sixteen months on lees, while a delicate whisper of sweetness softens the centre. It all snaps back into focus on a crisp, citrus-edged finish, leaving the mouth feeling clean and ready for another sip.
About This Wine
Here's the secret about Cap Classique: it's made exactly the same way as Champagne, but at a fraction of the price. Darling Cellars' Nectar is a brilliant example of why South African sparkling deserves a regular spot in your fridge. Hand-harvested Chenin Blanc, whole-bunch pressed, bottle fermented and then left to mature on its lees for sixteen patient months before disgorgement. The result is a glass full of sunshine with proper depth behind the bubbles. Pour it and you'll catch lifted aromas of green apple, pineapple and lemon and orange zest. The palate is where it really sings: crisp citrus and orchard fruit lifted by a soft biscuity richness from that long lees ageing, with a whisper of sweetness balanced by zippy, well-judged acidity. It's refreshing without being austere, generous without tipping into sugary. This is a wine that punches well above its price point, made from old bush vines in Darling, a cool, breezy pocket of the Western Cape better known for wildflowers and dairy than for sparkling wine. That coastal influence keeps the fruit fresh and the acidity bright, exactly what you want from a good fizz. Serve it well chilled (around 6-8°C) as an aperitif, or pair it with creamy butter chicken curry, ripe Camembert, or a wedge of blue cheese. It's also a thoughtful gift for the friend who appreciates a proper bottle of bubbles without the Champagne markup. Delivered to your door anywhere in the UK.
Food Pairing
The gentle sweetness here is a gift at the table. It cools the heat of a fragrant butter chicken curry or a Thai green curry beautifully, and the biscuity lees character flatters soft, creamy cheeses. Think Brie, ripe Camembert, or a wedge of blue alongside oatcakes. It also makes a brilliant aperitif with salted almonds before a Sunday lunch.
- —Creamy butter chicken curry with basmati rice
- —Baked Camembert with crusty bread
- —Blue cheese and pear on oatcakes
- —Thai green chicken curry
- —Smoked salmon blinis as a pre-dinner nibble
How to Serve
Decanting
No decanting needed. This is a fresh, bottle-fermented sparkler and you want to preserve every bubble. Open it just before pouring and let the wine open up in the glass.
Ageing & Cellaring
Built for drinking now rather than long cellaring. Enjoy over the next two to three years while the fruit is bright and the mousse lively. With more time, the citrus will recede and the biscuity, autolytic notes will deepen, but the freshness is its great charm.
The Land
The vines sit on medium yellow, non-arid sandy topsoils underpinned by a band of red laterite that makes up around 60% of the sub-soil. That laterite layer holds just enough moisture to support old-school dry-land farming, while the bush-vine training keeps yields low and concentration high.
The Winemaking
Whole-bunch pressed and settled overnight, with only the cleanest free-run juice (around 450 to 500 litres from every ton of fruit) taken forward. First fermentation happens in stainless steel to lock in that crisp Chenin character, before the wine is bottled for its second fermentation. Sixteen months resting on the lees in bottle builds the biscuity, toasty depth you taste, then the sediment is coaxed into the neck by hand turning (remuage) and disgorged in the traditional Cap Classique manner.
The Western Cape Region
Le Domaine draws its fruit from vineyards scattered across the Western Cape, from coastal sites cooled by Atlantic breezes to warmer inland slopes, all planted between 50 and 300 metres above sea level. This broad sourcing is deliberate. By blending components from different microclimates, the cellar builds a consistent house style that balances the crisp acidity of cooler sites with the ripe generosity of warmer ones. It's the Western Cape's extraordinary diversity captured in a single glass.
About the Producer
Darling Cellars
Darling Cellars sits on the Cape West Coast, about seventy-five kilometres north of Cape Town, in a landscape that was dairy country long before anyone thought to plant vines. Founded in the mid-nineties as a privately owned cellar, it's run by a cooperative of around twenty shareholders farming roughly 1,300 hectares, a community venture in the truest sense. Nearly all their vineyards are unirrigated, with bush vines doing what they've always done: pushing roots deep into decomposed granite to find their own water. It's dry farming in its purest form, and it gives the wines a concentration and honesty that you simply can't manufacture. Under the direction of red wine specialist Pieter-Niel Rossouw, the cellar has built a quiet reputation for wines that overdeliver at every price point, genuine, terroir-driven, and refreshingly unpretentious.