![]() | 2023 Rotsbank - Sadie Family Wines | € 64,44 (€ 77,97) |
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IN DE PERS 97 Neal Martin - vinous.com (September 2024) The sophomore 2023 Rotsbank is the only Chenin that evolges a gunflint tincture, according to Eben Sadie. That comes through on the nose, which has more complexity than the Skurfberg this year. Pear, honeysuckle, crushed stone and light walnut scents blossom in the glass. The palate has exquisite balance and energy, real complexity and drive, and an almost penetrating finish that demands the finest oysters known to mankind. This rapidly staking a claim to be Eben Sadie's finest wine in a stellar portfolio. Drink 2025-2045. Last year, Eben Sadie walked me through his winery, which was basically just four walls and half a roof. Twelve months and a lot of sleepless nights later, the finishing touches are being applied. Wow, it’s impressive. Every last detail has been considered in terms of functionality, aesthetics and sustainability. In the upstairs tasting room, you find a fully-equipped kitchen that most restaurants can only dream about, though Sadie has no plans to open one. It’s for his workers. Indeed, he stressed the importance of hiring local skilled labor. Downstairs, I walked through the vat room that has a high-ceilinged, cathedral-like design. All that’s missing is a stained-glass window. In Bordeaux, this would not look out of place, but in Swartland, it is a statement that is a testament to everything Sadie has achieved. It is concurrent with a turning of the page as his two sons, Markus and Xander, take increasing roles in the estate’s running. The 2023s, the last to be vinified in the old cellar, were on show. I asked Sadie his views on the growing season. “We used to pick over two months, but we now pick over 4 to 5 weeks,” Sadie explained. “Everything got massively compressed, but the new cellar gives us a logistical advantage. The 2023 and 2024 vintages have been difficult because of that compression. We are struggling with an absence of proper spring. Our summers start late, and picking dates [for each of the vineyards around the Cape] are around the same time. So, there's three weeks less hang time that affects early ripening more than late-ripening grapes because the acid breaks down much quicker and can end up with 0.75% more alcohol unless you have no acid left. Potassium take-up in grapes is much greater, so since 2015, we have started de-stemming a lot more [since the stems hold potassium that reduces acidity]. Our major consideration is to be able to plant new varieties, and so we are interplanting around 15% of the area with varieties that have higher acid retention, such as Colombard, Petit Manseng and Grillo.” There is no point in analyzing every wine, as my euphoric tasting notes express how impressive his 2023 is. But I must mention the second vintage of his Chenin Blanc, the 2023 Rotsbank, which sent tingles down my spine with its nascent energy and complexity. Also, his white blend Palladius, the 2022 vintage, is the wine that Eben said he had always wanted to make and certainly the best that I have tasted. 96+ Monica Larner - robertparker.com (Juni 2025) The Sadie Family's 2023 Swartland Old Vine Series Rotsbank is Chenin Blanc that is especially tightly knit, flinty and mineral in personality. That reductive quality bodes well for the long haul, and you should resist opening this bottle within five years of the harvest. Glimmers of honey, almond blossom and pithy stone fruit shine from within. This site is characterized by weathered granite soils on a shallow shelf. In fact, the name Rotsbank means "rock bench" in Afrikaans. Eben Sadie says he had his eye on this vineyard for 14 years, but it belonged to the local cooperative. He was finally able to buy it, and the first vintage made was 2022. I love the reductive character of this wine; it adds a snap and tension, like a rubber band. Drink 2026-2040. Founded in 1999 by Eben Sadie, The Sadie Family estate in the Swartland is celebrated across the world for its commitment to terroir-driven wines made with minimal intervention. Eben Sadie is a pioneer in organic and biodynamic farming across different soils, including granite, slate, alluvial and weathered sandstone. "The geological pull is what brought me here," says Eben Sadie, who works with 38 varieties (experimental and non) across 54 vineyard sites. I visited The Sadie Family twice last year. On my first visit in January, a large off-the-grid winery was under the last phase of construction. On my second visit in October, I saw the finished results. The two flagship wines are the red blend Columella and the white blend Palladius. The portfolio includes world-class expressions (with some of the best Chenin Blanc made anywhere) in the Old Vine Series. Eben Sadie does not care for trellised vines. "We need to scale away from the sun, not toward it," he says. The goblet system is the world's oldest training system, going back 7,000 or 8,000 years, he explains, and suddenly trellising was introduced a mere 140 years ago. Vertical shoot positioning (or VSP) attracts more solar radiation, he says. The Sadie Family is a Robert Parker Wine Advocate Green Emblem recipient (since 2021) for its commitment to sustainability and its environmental stewardship. The winemaking formula usually sees 35% whole-bunch fruit and 65% destemmed fruit. Aging is always in old foudre, with the youngest wood being eight years old. Fermentations are executed with extreme care. "We used to make wine like coffee, now we make it like tea," says Eben Sadie. EBEN SADIE This 2023 Rotsbank bottling displays match flint, almost crushed oyster shell aromas with grapefruit aspects.The wine is incredibly concentrated on the aromatics, and the tannins have massive tension.The wine’s substantial acidity and dry finish suggest that it will only benefit much from the time in the bottle. It is one of the most linear expressions of the year. It is a blue steel Chenin. VINIFICATION | After harvesting, the grapes are placed in a cooling room to reduce the temperature since the average temperatures are often 35 degrees or more – pressing warm grapes comes with its series of problems.We then do whole bunch pressing, a process that takes about 3 hours, during which time there is a margin of settling of the juice in the collecting tank. The juice is then transferred to two old foudres for fermentation. AGEING | The wine is left in a cask on the fermentation lees for the first 12 months, and we bottle from the lees. Only about 60ppm of sulphur is added two weeks before bottling. NOTES | The Rotsbank vineyard is located in the Paardeberg in the Aprilskloof on a rock shelf that barely has 30 – 50 cm of soil in most parts. It is incredible to think that this vineyard survives year after year. Many of the roots in the soil have found cracks in this rock shelf, and the limited natural growth of this vineyard makes for incredibly concentrated fruit. Since 2008 we have wanted to produce a Swartland Chenin Blanc, but the 2022 vintage materialised as the first after we were very fortunate to purchase the vineyard. Swartland Paardeberg / Chenin Blanc or Steen / 12 months in foudre / Decomposed granite on a shallow granite shelf. 32hl/ha / 13,55% / 1,6g/l / pH 3,3 / TA 6g/l / Total Sulphur 86mg/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. |