Old Vine Series. In the 1920s, Cinsault was the most-planted black grape in South Africa. However, as one of the fickler varieties to work with and to vinify, it suffered a fall from grace post-WWII. It’s only very recently that (with growers such as Eben Sadie and Chris Alheit leading the charge) the ‘Pinot Noir of Swartland’ has been reborn, and the results are revelatory. This variety is now being planted more and more by some top growers in the south of Franc. Wines like this show you why.

Pofadder is pure Cinsault, cropped from a parcel on the Kasteelberg Mountain (west of Malmesbury) planted in 1973. The soils are slate and decomposed shale. Pofadder is Afrikaans for a puff adder, a type of snake in these parts that claimed the life of a vineyard worker in the 1940s. Sadie is a champion for old-vine Cinsault in the Cape, but even he concedes that this is the vineyard and the wine that need the most care. Controlling yields, bunch/berry sorting and protection from oxidation in the cellar are all vital. Roughly 50% whole bunches are placed in an old wooden, open-top fermenter, with one or two gentle foot-stomps each day to release just enough juice to keep the fermentation ticking over. After a month on skins, the grapes are transferred to a tiny basket press and pressed directly to 28-year-old conical wooden casks for aging. The wine, crafted from yields below 28 hl/ha, is a gloriously textured yet vibrant wine, a delicate ode to variety and region.

Old Vine Series. “It’s a Swartland thing”, notes Sadie of Tinta Barocca (the South African spelling has only one ‘r’ and two ‘c’s). This variety arrived in South Africa from the Douro and has found an opportune home in the Western Cape. Historically, Tinta das Baroccas (as it was once labelled) has always played a prominent role in Swartland’s red blends, and interest in the variety—particularly from old, dry-grown vineyards—has spiked in recent years.

This vineyard, planted in 1974 and located next to the old railway line (treinspoor), lies four kilometres west of Malmesbury on decomposed granite and sandstone. Sadie notes that while the very fragile, thin skin of Tinta Barocca is prone to sunburn, the old bush vines of this site keep the bunches sheltered from the intense Swartland sun. He likens his Treinspoor to a sort of stylistic cross between northern Rhône Syrah (black cherry/blackcurrant/grenadine fruit, iodine and nettles) and Piedmontese Nebbiolo (spice, flowers, acidity and tannins): “It has Piedmont-like tannins and northern Rhône aromatics” says Eben. Regardless, as you can read below, it’s a brilliant red. It ferments in concrete with 50% whole bunches and is raised for 11 months in large cask. Like all Sadie wines, it is an outstanding, idiosyncratic red of beauty, finesse and character.

Old Vine Series. Soldaat is 100% Grenache from a parcel of 55-year-old vines in the highland Piekenierskloof region (just shy of the Swartland catchment, going north to Citrusdal). The vineyard got its name from the foot soldiers (piekeniers) who once used this area as a lookout. Sadie’s east-facing parcel sits around 780 metres—one of the Cape’s highest elevations—and the soil is decomposed granite. The vines here are unirrigated and still on their own roots.

Eben notes that The Piekenierskloof Pass has firmly positioned itself as the leading location for Cape Grenache, capable of giving vibrant, perfumed wines with lifted red fruit, smoky, spicy notes and earthy minerality. This wine calls to mind the elegant, perfumed Garnachas from Gredos and San Martín de Valdeiglesias in the Madrid highlands, yet with precision and class all its own. And at 13% alcohol, it’s entirely different from the heavy, alcoholic wines often associated with Grenache. Crafted from yields of 22 hl/ha, Soldaat ferments and matures in concrete tanks (with 60% whole bunches this year). 

Signature wine. First released in 2000, Columella is Sadie’s most famous wine. While it’s regularly described as an icon of Swartland (and indeed South Africa), Eben Sadie’s goal is simply to produce the finest, most honest expression he can from Swartland as a whole. As such, the blend includes six of the seven official red grapes that grow in the region. The 2021 is a blend of one-quarter Syrah, with the remainder a blend of Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan, Tinta Barocca and Cinsault. Eben notes that the incremental growth of Mourvèdre, Carignan, Cinsault and Tinta Barocca in the final blend has contributed to the depth and complexity of tannins and that there is also more fruit purity.

Eben also wants to capture as many Swartland soils and climates as possible. This year, the grapes came from seven soil types (including granite, slate, gravel and sandstone) across 11 separate vineyards in Paardeberg, Kasteelberg, Malmesbury and Piquetberg. Most are low-yielding, old-vine parcels, although some of the estate’s younger material also plays its part. Many of the Syrah vines have been trained to their own pole (échelas style, as per northern Rhône).

Most of the fruit is destemmed, although an increasing percentage of whole bunches are used each year. Sadie has a sorting team of 25 who discard 8 to 15% of the fruit each year. The grapes go into a huge open fermenter for an average of three weeks on skins before being basket-pressed into primarily old French oak barrels (less than 5% new). After a year on lees, the wine is racked into seasoned oval casks (foudres) for further maturation on the fine lees. The wine is then bottled without fining or filtration.

A quick note on the history and evolution of this wine. The wine was a predominantly Syrah blend with Mourvèdre in its first decade. Over the years, specifically since 2009, Sadie has introduced ever-increasing amounts of the other varieties. The fruit is also picked earlier, and the winemaking has progressed. Before 2009, the style was geared towards power and extraction, maximising depth of colour, flavour and tannin. Post-2009, the maceration has become progressively gentler to the point where the cap is simply kept wet, mainly via handheld jugs. The amount of new oak has also decreased radically. It is no coincidence that these changes happened around the same time that Sadie was experimenting with similar techniques at Terroir al Límit in Priorat.

Columella is nonetheless a more powerful, complex wine than those in the Old Vine Series, with unforced intensity and a corresponding increase in texture and ripeness. We recommend decanting, and Sadie suggests a minimum of eight years in the cellar before opening. Good luck with that! The notes below tell you all about the style and brilliant quality of the 2021 release. It has the finesse, sappiness and vibrancy of great Burgundy (from a powerful year) and the depth and structure to live for decades.

Signature wine. Palladius is a blend of all 11 of Swartland’s official white varieties, with old bush-vine Chenin Blanc playing the principal role. Like the Columella red, the idea is to produce a great white that represents the overall terroir of Swartland, so it tries to use all permitted grapes. As a result, it is harvested from 17 sites, with the full list of grapes taking in Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanche, Viognier, Verdelho, Roussanne, Marsanne, Semillon Blanc, Palomino and Colombard, as well as the hyper-rare Semillon Gris (which plays a starring role in Sadie’s Kokerboom and ’T Voetpad cuvées). Scattered throughout Swartland, most of the vineyards are rooted in decomposed Paardeberg granite (although four parcels lie on sandstone), and most qualify for old-vine status (35 years plus), with the oldest planted in 1935. The younger-vine fruit comes from Sadie’s own plantings, though even here, the yields max out at 30 hl/ha.

As for the winemaking, the fruit was sorted and pressed in a traditional, vertical press directly into clay amphora and concrete egg (725 litres). The wine went to large wooden foudre for maturation. The full aging cycle is 24 months. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Throughout the season, Sadie’s primary goal is, in his own words, “to try and get the maximum volume of compact fruit and texture together with the best potential volume of acidity and freshness.” He has unquestionably achieved that here, with the extra breadth, power and texture setting Palladius apart from his Old Vine Series whites. Palladius relies less on acidity than those wines, harnessing a deep, phenolic freshness that frames the wine. Eben continues: “Over the past five years, Palladius has been the wine that gained the most in quality and refinement, and much of this has to do with the addition of more vineyards and the improvement of their viticulture.” It’s a white of vast complexity, the kind you can sit with for hours. The 2021 is magical; Eben’s tasting note below captures it beautifully. It’s deep, powerful, and complex, yes, but it has finesse, freshness and balance, making it a joy to drink.

“The 2021 Palladius displays early-picked stone fruit aromas with some citrus aromas in the background. Still, the minerality and salty qualities on the palate suggest that the wine will be slender for a while but will fill up over time in the bottle. Complex earthy aromas with lanolin layers make up the deeper aspects of aromatics. The palate of the wine is substantial, and the tannins and the acidity seem coiled up super tight. The current taste of the wine shows every intention of this vintage to be a longstanding wine with a big-player mentality. Tasting through the lineup this year, this wine is just a standout.” Eben Sadie

Signature wine. Palladius is a blend of all 11 of Swartland’s official white varieties, with old bush-vine Chenin Blanc playing the principal role. Like the Columella red, the idea is to produce a great white that represents the overall terroir of Swartland, so it tries to use all permitted grapes. As a result, it is harvested from 17 sites, with the full list of grapes taking in Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanche, Viognier, Verdelho, Roussanne, Marsanne, Semillon Blanc, Palomino and Colombard, as well as the hyper-rare Semillon Gris (which plays a starring role in Sadie’s Kokerboom and ’T Voetpad cuvées). Scattered throughout Swartland, most of the vineyards are rooted in decomposed Paardeberg granite (although four parcels lie on sandstone), and most qualify for old-vine status (35 years plus), with the oldest planted in 1935. The younger-vine fruit comes from Sadie’s own plantings, though even here, the yields max out at 30 hl/ha.

As for the winemaking, the fruit was sorted and pressed in a traditional, vertical press directly into clay amphora and concrete egg (725 litres). The wine went to large wooden foudre for maturation. The full aging cycle is 24 months. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Throughout the season, Sadie’s primary goal is, in his own words, “to try and get the maximum volume of compact fruit and texture together with the best potential volume of acidity and freshness.” He has unquestionably achieved that here, with the extra breadth, power and texture setting Palladius apart from his Old Vine Series whites. Palladius relies less on acidity than those wines, harnessing a deep, phenolic freshness that frames the wine. Eben continues: “Over the past five years, Palladius has been the wine that gained the most in quality and refinement, and much of this has to do with the addition of more vineyards and the improvement of their viticulture.” It’s a white of vast complexity, the kind you can sit with for hours. The 2021 is magical; Eben’s tasting note below captures it beautifully. It’s deep, powerful, and complex, yes, but it has finesse, freshness and balance, making it a joy to drink.

“The 2021 Palladius displays early-picked stone fruit aromas with some citrus aromas in the background. Still, the minerality and salty qualities on the palate suggest that the wine will be slender for a while but will fill up over time in the bottle. Complex earthy aromas with lanolin layers make up the deeper aspects of aromatics. The palate of the wine is substantial, and the tannins and the acidity seem coiled up super tight. The current taste of the wine shows every intention of this vintage to be a longstanding wine with a big-player mentality. Tasting through the lineup this year, this wine is just a standout.” Eben Sadie