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Bibendum Wine Co.
Bibendum Wine Co.
Bibendum Wine Co.

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Sadie Family Stellenbosch Mev. Kirsten 2023

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Sadie Family Stellenbosch Mev. Kirsten 2023
Producer Sadie Family Wines
Region, Country South Africa, South Africa
Bottle Size 750ml
Case Size 6
Product Code 24604-750

Stellenbosch. Sadie has been working with Chenin off this “truly incredible” granite vineyard at 220 metres on the foot of Bothmaskop Mountain in Stellenbosch’s Jonkershoek Valley since 2006. With most of the vines planted between 1905 and 1920, the mere one hectare (belonging to Mrs Kirsten and her family) is recognised as the oldest Chenin Blanc in South Africa. Due to the age of the vines, Sadie has been interplanting mass-selection cuttings to prolong the vineyard’s life, though the younger vines are vinified separately. In time, the younger fraction will also be included in the blend.

Eben describes this hyper-rare wine as his most powerful and structured Chenin Blanc, juxtaposing silky elegance with immense texture, density and power. It ferments in an old foudre with lots of solids and is bottled unfiltered after 12 months of aging. The wine possesses the beaming acidity and linear shape of all Sadie’s 2023 Chenin Blanc and is simply one of the more restrained and complex vintages for this box-office Chenin. Eben urges clients to give this wine the benefit of time in the bottle, noting it needs a decade to reveal its full potential. If you can’t wait, a decanter will help! 

Sadie Family Stellenbosch Mev. Kirsten 2023

Reviews

“It doesn't look like much up close - a few vines at the bottom of the Jonkershoek Valley overshadowed by an electricity pylon - but Mev Kirsten is the oldest Chenin Blanc vineyard in the Cape, planted in 1905 on decomposed sandstone and alluvial granite soils. I can't recall a better release of this wine, which feels like the product of a lifetime's work. Serious, concentrated and intense, this has layers of oatmeal, pear, citrus, lanolin and dried honey, remarkable focus and vivacity and the concentration to develop beautifully in bottle.”
99 points, Tim Atkin MW, South Africa Report 2024
“The 2023 Mev. Kirsten is perhaps the most closed of the three Chenins, unfolding with time to reveal scents of yellow fruit, oyster shell and a touch of lanolin. The palate has superb weight and density—the most fruit-driven Chenin, with an irresistible, slightly viscous texture counterbalanced by a keen thread of acidity. It’s even a little petrolly on the finish. Fabulous from beginning to end.”
96 points, Neal Martin, Vinous

Reviews

“It doesn't look like much up close - a few vines at the bottom of the Jonkershoek Valley overshadowed by an electricity pylon - but Mev Kirsten is the oldest Chenin Blanc vineyard in the Cape, planted in 1905 on decomposed sandstone and alluvial granite soils. I can't recall a better release of this wine, which feels like the product of a lifetime's work. Serious, concentrated and intense, this has layers of oatmeal, pear, citrus, lanolin and dried honey, remarkable focus and vivacity and the concentration to develop beautifully in bottle.”
99 points, Tim Atkin MW, South Africa Report 2024
“The 2023 Mev. Kirsten is perhaps the most closed of the three Chenins, unfolding with time to reveal scents of yellow fruit, oyster shell and a touch of lanolin. The palate has superb weight and density—the most fruit-driven Chenin, with an irresistible, slightly viscous texture counterbalanced by a keen thread of acidity. It’s even a little petrolly on the finish. Fabulous from beginning to end.”
96 points, Neal Martin, Vinous

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