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 | 2022 Soldaat - Sadie Family Wines | € 54,38 (€ 65,80) |
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IN DE PERS 94+ Anthony Mueller - robertparker.com (December 2023) Bursting with a bright, fresh nose with crunchy red fruit aromas, the 2022 Old Vine Series Soldaat displays impeccable balance and crystalline purity from a challenging vintage. Medium-bodied and with lively acidity and delicate mineral tension, the Grenache bursts with bright red fruit flavors, even though it spent less time on the skins and clocks in with some of the lowest alcohol for the bottling. Only 6,800 bottles were filled with 50% whole-cluster Grenache. Bravo, I want more! Drink 2024-2037. 93 Neal Martin - vinous.com (Augustus 2023) The 2022 Soldaat is Eben Sadies' Grenache from the Citrusdal Mountains, 50% whole clusters with 20 to 28 days on the skins, raised in concrete. It has a captivating bouquet, very floral with pressed rose petals, kirsch, pomegranate and cranberry. The palate has a touch of sour cherry on the entry, very tensile and linear. Yet, there is also disarming purity and cohesion on the finish, very peppery on the sustained aftertaste. Wonderful. 13,18% alcohol. Drink 2024-2042. No trip to the Cape would be complete without visiting Eben Sadie in Swartland. Before we tasted his 2022s, Sadie gave me a tour of his impressive new winery under construction. One thing that he or his sons, who are taking an increasing active role in the running, will be short of in the future is space. « The 2022 was a difficult vintage on paper, » Sadie explains. « All the rain fell to the South of Swartland, and so we had a hangover of drought. We didn’t have a good winter. Just after flowering, after fruit set, we reduced our crop by half, taking it down one bunch per shoot, and we thinned tje shoots right down to maintain a conservative canopy management. It’s one of the benefits of having a fixed team of 26 people. Also, we have had the lowest alcohol levels ever, bringing in the fruit below 13,5% potential alcohol. I’m fascinated by the 2022’s because they are way better than Thought they would be. It’s a radical and expensive vintage for us because we bottled very little. It’s been a revelation. It will be interesting to see if we can have the same levels of alcohol in a wetter year. We’ll do some trials to see if it is possible. » This is a brilliant range of 2022s under his Old Vine Series umbrella that includes one new cuvée, a pure Chenin Blanc from Swartland named Rotsbank that Sadie told me he had waited 14 years make. The 2022 Skurfberg might well constitute the vinous highlight of my trip, consistently ranking among his best wines. Maybe just the Kokerboom left me wanting more. The 2021 Columella, his blend of Rhône varieties now around two decades old is wonderful, less powerful than older vintages yet imbued with greater finesse and articulating its site with greater clarity. EBEN SADIE This 2022 Soldaat has the characteristic red cherry and bright pomegranate fruit aromas that carry through into deeper earthy flavours. This year the colour is slightly darker but still bright red, and the tannins are softer than usual. The fruit is overall quite expressive, and the softer mouthfeel of the tannins suggests that this vintage was quite fully ripe at 13% alcohol. It will be hard not to drink it, but the wine gains massive complexity with time in the bottle. VINIFICATION | Grenache is one of the most planted red varietals globally and had a greater presence in the early 1900’s in South Africa. Recent indications are that that it is making a come-back and many new vineyards have been planted lately. The reality is that young Grenache tends to over-produce and in many respects its big previous downfall can be linked to this fact, but when a vineyard comes of age and/or is planted in a less forgiving site with reduced fruit load, it can compete with the most elegant and refined reds of the Mediterranean climate. We basically fill the concrete tanks whole cluster to about 60% and then destem 40% to get some juice in the tank to have the initiation of fermentation.The fermentation is for about 30 days on the skins and then we press the grapes in an old basket press. AGEING | After pressing the wine is transferred back into concrete, therefore the fermentation on the skins, pressing and the subsequent ageing all take place in 33Hl concrete tanks. The wine is left for 8 months on the lees and then racked to another concrete tank for an additional 4 months to settle clean.Three weeks prior to bottling we add 60mg/Litre of sulphur and bottle the wine from the fine lees. NOTES | The fermentation of the Soldaat vineyard is a wonderful experience in the cellar since the red strawberry, cherry and pomegranate kind of fresh fruit aromas and perfumes fill the entire space; and these and similar flavours are to be found in the resultant wine. Grenache is a grape that completely translates the terroir into liquid.The purity of fruit and transparency of the wine, with very earthy notes, develop into greater complexity with time – this is the main characteristic here alongside the fresh fruit aromas.The tannin textures do reward those that have the nerve to wait and allow the wine to mature properly for 5 – 8 years minimum. Citrusdal Mountain Piekenierskloof / Grenache / 12 months ageing in concrete only / Decomposed Table Mountain sandstone formations 22hl/ha / 13,18%vol / 1,8g/l / pH 3,52 / TA 5,5g/l / Total Sulphur 73mg/l Sadie Family WinesWinery of the Year - Platter’s South African Wine Guide 2015 SadieThe Swartland Independent Producers veranderen Zuid Afrika als wijnland. Hun pionier is één van de beste wijnmakers ter wereld (en een ervaren surfer) genaamd Eben Sadie. Hij wordt vereerd als National Treasure en gamechanger. Hij ontgint wonderlijke terroirs, herstelt verwaarloosde bushvines en leidt de avant-garde in doordachte wijnbouw en vinificatie. Zijn Columella en Palladius zijn de eerste Afrikaanse Grands Vins. Daarnaast biedt zijn iconische “Ouwingerdreeks” kleine loten eigenzinnige bewaarwijnen uit specifieke climats. Appreciëer deze boeiende en betekenisvolle wijnen zolang de voorraad strekt. 2017 Winemakers' Winemaker Award, Institute of Masters of Wine Jane Masters MW, chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine - Eben’s determined search to produce outstanding wines has put Swartland and South Africa on the map. I am delighted that the Master of Wine Winemakers have rewarded his dedication and talent – it’s truly well deserved. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||