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 | 2023 Treinspoor - Sadie Family Wines | € 61,37 (€ 74,26) |
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IN DE PERS 95 Neal Martin - vinous.com (September 2024) The 2023 Treinspoor is pure Tinta Barocca planted on sandstone and granite/quaetz. Dark berry fruit and hints of Earl Grey unfold on the nose that's maybe just a bit Nebbiolo-like in style and very expressive. Brisk and bright, the palate is medium-bodied with slightly chalky tannins. It's a little Barolo-like toward the grippy finish, leaving veins of blue fruit on the aftertaste. Outstanding and characterful. Drink 2025-2040. 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. 95 Monica Larner - robertparker.com (Juni 2025) A 100% expression of Tinta Barocca, The Sadie Family's 2023 Swartland Old Vine Series Treinspoor comes from a vineyard located 21 kilometers from the ocean on alluvial sandstone, granite and quartz formations. The wine presents an intriguing bouquet with distinct aromas of crushed stone, graphite, petrichor and shaved pencil. These add to the vertical and linear presentation of this unique red wine. Those stony sensations terminate with sweet cherry and more berry fruits over a medium-plus finish. Eben Sadie says he hates cooked flavors and he hates underripe flavors. Founding an ideal balance is key, and this vintage does just that. Drink 2025-2040. 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 Treinspoor comes straight out of the blocks with the most complex, spicey, and earthy aromas.The entire wine smells like beautiful soil that was just ploughed.The earthy aromas and the bright red fruit aromas are packed together, resting on substantial tannins and acidity that will carry this into the future. Please afford this wine time. VINIFICATION | This vineyard is located next to the old railway line (treinspoor) and was named accordingly. The very fragile, thin skin of Tinta Barocca is prone to sunburn, but in this case the old bush vines have formed a great framework to keep the bunches sheltered from the intense Swartland sun. Tinta Barocca has the textural nature of the Nebbiolo grape and the aromatic orientation of Syrah - a great combination. It produces wines of great character and expression that are built to last. The grapes are fermented with 50% whole clusters and 50% being destemmed and the fermentation is left for about 25 – 30 days prior to being pressed in an old basket press. Only bucket overs are done in the fermentation for it is very easy to over-extract Tinta Barocca since the grapes hold an abundance of tannins. AGEING | After pressing the wine is transferred into 28-year-old conical wooden casks that do not impart any wooden flavours. The age and the saturation of the wooden staves also make for a very slow reaction between the wine and oxygen. After 11 months on the lees the wine is racked to another concrete tank for an additional month to settle clean and 2 weeks prior to bottling we add 65mg/Litre of sulphur and bottle the wine from the fine lees. NOTES | Tinta Barocca is a grape that carries the soil into the bottle, it is a great communicator of terroir. The grape has had a longstanding relationship with the Swartland and the spicy herbal aromatics and dark purple plum like fruit carries over into a very tight and compressed core of the wine. As mentioned before the tannins of Tinta Barocca have very much the same behaviour as those of Nebbiolo and proper ageing is required. Historically we have referenced that Tinta Barocca might be the most significant red variety of the historical plantings to transport the terroir and typicity of a site to bottle. Swartland - Malmesbury / Tinta Barrocca or Tinta Das Baroccas / 12 months aging on old foudre / Alluvial Plain, Sandstone, Granite and Quartz Formations 30hl/ha / 12,81%vol / 1,7g/l / pH 3,59 / TA 5,7g/l / Total Sulphur 81mg/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. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||