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Following the Citrusdal Valley north towards Clanwilliam, we come to Sadie’s highest vineyard, Kokerboom. Named for the striking aloe plants that grow near the vines, Kokerboom was planted on Table Mountain sandstone in the 1930s, and so is now home to one of Swartland’s few remaining plantings of old-vine Semillon, a variety that at once made up 80% of South Africa’s national plantings. This site was owned and managed by Henk Laing (until his recent passing), and Sadie has said that this “… is one of the most pristine old vineyards we know. No herbicides or artificial fertilizers have ever been used on it, and it has been perfectly pruned over the years. The downside is that it is small and low yielding.”
Kokerboom is a field blend of Semillon Blanc and Semillon Gris, the latter contributing between 20 and 30%, depending on the year. Both Semillons are picked and pressed together and raised in large-format oak. Thanks to its solar exposition, the Semillon ripens extremely well here and has little to none of the tart herbaceousness so often associated with the grape. Instead, the Semillon from this site is known for its ripe lime characters, as well as notes of chamomile and a waxy texture. Kokerboom is the lowest-yielding vineyard of the old-vine series—in 2021 the vines squeezed out just 16 hl/ha— and Eden implores that what little there is should be shared amongst friends.