Sadie Family Wines | The 2022 Release

"We have decided to drink more wine, for trying to make sense of this highly confusing world is impossible for now." - Eben Sadie.
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With our most significant allocation yet, you can imagine our excitement at sharing these fabled wines with you. As befitting one of South Africa’s most sought-after (demand far outweighs supply) wine brands, Sadie Family Wines continues to look inward in its stunning evolution. This year marks the expansion of the home farm ROTSVAS / ROCK SOLID with the acquisition of 20ha from a neighbouring farm, bringing their total hectarage up to 36.30ha. Including two notable old vine Chenin vineyards of 35 years old each, entitled ANTENNA and ROTSBANK, these vines present an exciting opportunity to practice the Sadie principles of sustainability, planting to grow old, and the value of old vines in translating a sense of place. Nowhere in Eben’s 2022 release notes does he reference hard-to-pronounce international wines or regions for comparison (though he keeps a keen eye on these for reference). He talks about improving the soils, maintaining old vines, proudly purchasing the first-ever South African cabin tractors (Breda’s), and starting to refurbish the Columella cellar having ended up doing much more than that. As usual.


Excitingly their West Coast project at _Bottelfontein_ has finally come to fruition (quite literally) this year, with the first fruit picked on the 7th of February. A very timely commentary on the emerging focus on West Coast salinity and the small pockets of intriguing vines planted there. We look forward to seeing what this site will yield in the future - and suggest you keep an eye out. By his own admission - “truthfully, there were even times when we thought maybe we had pushed it too far this time.” But honestly, how far is too far when doing the right thing? The Old Vine Series continues to be ambassadors of their various districts, while the Columella and Palladius remain quintessential Swartland. As with previous vintages, we are patiently waiting to see the adulatory scores awarded, specifically on wines such as Columella, Skurfberg, ’T Voetpad, Mev. Kirsten and Soldaat having flirted with perfect and near-perfect scores in last year’s releases. Not that Eben cares about that. With no single wine receiving more or less of his, winemaker Paul Jordaan, and their various committed viticulturists’ attention. One is assured each wine has been handled to the team’s exacting standards, thus, the best representative of its terroir possible. Which, with Eben’s penchant for OLD wines, having admitted he doesn’t really bother drinking anything under ten years himself, these are compulsory for anyone trying to form an opinion on South African wines as a whole - that is, if you can wait that long. Eben concludes by welcoming _Loki_, Paul Jordaan’s newest _child_ (what looks like a German Shepherd) into the family, having been bred by the Badenhorst's on neighbouring Kalmoesfontein. The pack of dogs on the farm is quite literally the spirit animals of the place, and thus the more, the better, considering the great spirit of the place and its people.


Despite the woes of the world, we take great comfort in the fact that ROTSVAS exists and is thriving in a time when it doesn't feel like much else is - and suggest you do the same. While we’ll do our best to distribute these wines evenly, as always, we’d advise haste.


#Sadie2022