2023 Berry Bros. & Rudd Swartland White by The Sadie Family Wines, South Africa
Critics reviews
I bought the very first vintage of Eben Sadie’s Columella (the 2000) from UK wine supremos Richards Walford, and we made a lot of fuss about this era-changing South African red wine on the wine list at Bibendum Restaurant. This led to a meeting with its creator, and it gave me a stunning insight into Eben’s mercurial mind. This was truly privileged access to a period that many believe set the scene for the top-end of the modern South African wine industry. The similarities between Aimé Guibert and Eben Sadie are countless, as are the differences, but either way, they have both had a profound impact on my palate and the second I tasted this incredible white blend an overwhelming sense of nostalgia coupled with wonderful, twenty-year-old flashbacks starting fireworks in my brain.
Made from a ridiculously complex blend of Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Palomino, Vermentino, Assyrtiko, Marsanne, Roussanne, Grillo, Cinsault Blanc, Clairette Blanche, Viognier, Piquepoul Blanc and Colombard, in the absence of Mas de Daumas white, this wine is the filmic negative of my star red wine, and yes, it is also brain-busting value for money! My tasting note reads, ‘Elite St-Joseph Blanc careens into an old vine-soaked Cape white blend, resulting in a mesmerising amalgam of honeysuckle, stone fruit, invigorating pith and zesty bitterness.’ And that is not even the half of it. This is another unmissable wine.
Drink now - 2027
Matthew Jukes, MatthewJukes.com (October 2024)
About this WINE
The Sadie Family Wines
Eben Sadie started his winemaking career working for Charles Back’s Spice Route-labelled wines before breaking out on his own in 1999. Since the first release of Columella with the 2000 vintage, he has acquired a reputation as the most innovative and inspired winemaker in South Africa.
His goal is to produce an expression of a region or specific site. This is the philosophy that drives the production of his Signature Series wines – Columella and Palladius. Columella (predominantly Syrah with a little Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan and Cinsault) is one of South Africa’s very best wines, if not the best, named after one of the wine trade’s earliest scribes. It is a blend of old-vine fruit from eight Swartland vineyards, spending 24 months in oak (with only a small proportion that is new) and is racked every six months. Eben’s white wine, Palladius, is arguably more impressive still; it is a delicious blend of 11 varieties from 17 different vineyard sites, with old, bush-vine Chenin Blanc playing the leading role.
The Signature Series was joined by the Old Vine Series (Die Ouwingerdreeks in Africaans) with its first commercial release in 2010. This range of wines is the fruition of a project very close to Eben’s heart. He worked with renowned viticulturalist, Rosa Kruger, to seek out, revitalise, and in some cases, save old vineyards throughout the Cape. These highly sought-after wines are produced in very limited volumes and offer an incredible vinous insight into South Africa’s grape growing and winemaking history. These, and the Signature Series, are incredible wines from a winemaker at the top of his game.
It is hardly surprising that Sadie Family Wines has been awarded the title of the Platter Guide’s Winery of the Year twice (in 2010 and 2015).
Swartland
After Stellenbosch, the west coast district of Swartland (25 miles due north of Cape Town, between the towns of Malmesbury and Piketberg) now ranks as the Cape's most exciting wine-producing district.
Settled initially by nomadic Khoikhoi from Namibia, the Dutch brought trade and vines to the region in the 17th century. Viticulture was developed only more recently.This contrasts with an ancient geology which has brought a mix of shale, arenite sandstone and granite soils air-conditioned by the Atlantic Ocean nearby.
Chenin Blanc and Shiraz seem to do best, as exemplified by the wines of Eben Sadie and Mullineux.
Chenin Blanc
Chenin Blanc is an important white grape variety planted in the Anjou-Saumur and Touraine regions of the Loire Valley and the most widely planted varietal grape in South Africa.
In the Loire it produces high quality dry wines in Savenniéres, and luscious sweet, dessert wines in Coteaux du Layon, Bonnezeaux and Quarts de Chaume. In Vouvray and Montlouis it can be dry, medium dry, or sweet, and still or sparkling. Whether dry or sweet, the best Loire Chenin Blancs possess marvellously concentrated rich, honeyed fruit together with refreshingly vibrant acidity. It is Chenin Blanc's high acidity that enable the wines to age so well.
In South Africa Chenin Blanc is easier to grow and is prized for its versatility. It is used as a cheap blending option with Chardonnay, Colombard, and Muscat but also bottled unblended. The best producers keep their yields low and produce impressive mouthfilling wines.
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Description
The second vintage of our Swartland White has a beautiful nose of delicate lemon and chamomile flowers combined with yellow apple and an edge of tart white peach. The texture on the palate is gorgeous, and the wine feels layered with flavours of fleshy yellow apple, which are enhanced by a river-stone purity. All is completed by a long, pure, yellow-plum-stone finish.
Catriona Felstead MW, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd
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