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 | 2022 Columella - Sadie Family Wines | € 109,41 (€ 132,39) |
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IN DE PERS 95 Neal Martin - vinous.com (September 2024) The 2022 Columella has the lowest alcohol level ever bottled for this cuvée, at 13,2%. It is a blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Cinsault and Tinta Baroocca. This takes time to open on the nose and is quite introspective at first, gently unfurling scents of potpourri, undergrowth and brambly red berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins. There's a real a sense of symmetry and focus here - a much "cooler" Columella than older vintages, with a sapid finish that urges you back for another sip. Eben Sadie said he would finish the rest of the bottle the night after my tasting... I can see why. Drink 2026-2048. 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. 97 Monica Larner - robertparker.com (Juni 2025) One of South Africa's most critically acclaimed wines, this is a very complicated blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan, Cinsault, Tinta Barocca and Pinotage. Syrah leads at 38% of the total. The Sadie Family's 2022 Swartland Columella boasts unique DNA that cannot be replicated given that fruit is sourced from across 12 vineyard sites with a mix of granite, slate, gravel and sandstone. These sites are Paardeberg (with seven vineyards), Kasteelberg (with three vineyards), Malmesbury (with one vineyard) and Piquetberg (also one vineyard). Blending is never done in the winery. Instead, parcels are picked in sequence and co-fermented. The same blocks are always used. It matures over 24 months to show enormous balance and length. Columella is texturally rich and caressing with grippy tannins that need more time to fully resolve. The 2022 vintage is terrific, Eben Sadie tells me during our tasting in his newly finished winery, whereas 2024 was challenging. The bouquet on the 2022 is chiseled and etched with a note of pencil shaving or white pepper that cedes to dark fruit, spice and heritage rose. Drink 2027-2048. 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 The Columella has taken on many dimensions and interpretations over time, with quality being the central pillar. Varietal changes and viticultural improvements have most positively improved overall quality. This 2022 Columella vintage displays floral aromas, and the bright, fresh fruit aromas carry over into oriental spicey aspects that then meet up with deepened earthy dynamics. Over time, the trademark violets and perfumes will develop further; the wine is very compact. The acidity at the end of the palate and the overall tannin are very well-placed, and the overall balance of the wine is terrific. The first thought that comes to mind is that it is a classic vintage, with most aspects being textbook. This 2022 vintage is also the lowest alcohol we ever achieved on the blend at 13,2 %. The wine needs time. VINIFICATION | Hand sorting of individual berries of the entire production in small “strawberry” cases. Fermentation takes place spontaneously in 3300 litre open concrete fermenters for about three weeks at a temperature of 24 °C and is then followed by a post-fermentation maceration of another three weeks. No additions are made to the fermenting wine. Pressing takes place in a traditional basket press and the wine is transferred to the barrel (5% new) for malolactic fermentation. AGEING | The wine spends 12 months on the lees in tight-grain French oak barrels, just 5% of them new, and is then racked into big oval casks (foudres) for an additional year of maturation on the fine lees. After two years the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered. NOTES | Our Signature wines spearhead our viticultural and vinicultural developments and the yearly renewed implementation of more finite and precise workings. The incremental growth of Mourvèdre, Carignan, Cinsaut and Tinta Barocca in the final blend has contributed much to the depth and complexity of tannins.The fruit purity has also been lifted with remarkable freshness on the palate. Paardeberg (5 vineyards), Kasteelberg (3 vineyards), Malmesbury (1 vineyard), Piquetberg (1 vineyard) / Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan, Cinsaut & Tinta Barocca / 24 months agaeing prior tot bottling / Granite, Slate, Gravel & Sandstone formations. 32hl/ha / 13,02%vol / 1,8g/l / pH 3,5 / TA 5,7g/l / Total Sulphur 85mg/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. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||