Now in Stock: Sadie!

One of my most exciting trips of the year is always going out to the Sadie cellar for their annual release, but this year there was the new Rotsbank to look forward to, and it does not disappoint! Here are Eben’s vintage notes:

Since our last release, we have had a very unusual, one of the driest seasons on paper. But for this release, we will see the warm and windy 2022 vintages of the Old Vine Series being bottled from various districts of the Cape, and they are looking very fruit forward, and it will be a tough one to lay them down as the wines are pretty “open”. As a rule, the reds’ tannins are also much softer and round. The 2021 vintages of our Signature wines come as a solid release from a great year.

Columella 2021: The Columella has taken on many dimensions and interpretations over time, with quality being the central pillar, but more recently, the response to terroir has been more linear. This 2021 vintage of Columella displays extremely bright red fruit aromas. The wine is incredibly fresh, and the 24 months of ageing in old casks are unmarked; it almost seems like the fruit is still hanging on the vine. Some velvety spicey herbal aromas of the African bushveld come through on the aromatics, and then violets and perfumes followed. There are darker, deeper lines of graphite, black olive and cedarwood aromatics, and the structure of the wine is relatively seamless; the tannins flow into the acidity at the end of the palate. It is incredibly balanced, and delicate layers of stitching make up this wine. Time is your friend on this one.

Palladius 2021: 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. As always, it is suggested to age this wine for a minimum of 4- 6 years.

Soldaat 2022: This 2022 Soldaat has the characteristic red cherry and bright pomegranate fruit aromas that carry through into deeper earthy flavours. This year the colour is slightly darker but still bright red, and the tannins are softer than usual. The fruit is overall quite expressive, and the softer mouthfeel of the tannins suggests that this vintage was quite fully ripe at 13% alcohol. It will be hard not to drink it, but the wine gains massive complexity with time in the bottle.

Pofadder 2022: The 2022 Pofadder displays delicate red fruit of great purity and linear qualities; there are soft oriental spices and earthy aromas on the outer edges suggesting greater complexity in the future. The same fruit and deeper earthy aspects carry through to the mouthfeel and taste, which is a more serious style of Cinsaut. As with many 2022 wines, the tannins are also remarkably smooth with softer acidity.

Treinspoor 2022: The 2022 Treinspoor is textbook in its display of darker blueberry, spicey and herbal aromas with graphite aromas. The tannins are present in volumes, but as is the case throughout the 2022 wines, they are incredibly smooth and rounded. The purity in this wine and the focused fruit purity makes for a very serious wine with many layers and textures. Please afford this wine time, for it comes with ownership.

Skerpioen 2022: The 2022 Skerpioen enters the aromatics with volumes of fruit and limey, citrus and chamomile flowers. This wine’s distinctive saline qualities, salty taste, and minerality are again prominent. The salinity of this wine is a textbook aspect of the site and terroir of this vineyard. The tannins are firm, and the acidity is fresh, and we suggest rushing off to buy oysters! This wine is more assessable at an early stage than most of our other wines.

Kokerboom 2022: In many respects, this 2022 Kokerboom displays the typical waxy, lanolin, and almost wet wool characters often associated with Semillon. The most astounding aspect is that this vineyard had only 180mm of rain this year, and this drought and hydric stress forced us to pick the vineyard much earlier than ever before. Yet very few green flavours are present, and most aromatics are the classic Semillon flavours, with maybe a granadilla passionfruit aromatics being a new dimension. The tannins, acidity, overall texture and volume in the wine are incredible, and we are in awe of the power of this terroir. 

Skurfberg 2022: This 2022 vintage of Skurfberg displays fruit aromas of granny smith apple, pear skin and lanolin. The viscosity of aromas and depth is incredible, and all of these fantastic aromas meet up with firm tannins and acidity that keep the wine in balance and under tension. The site also carries deeper mineral aspects often associated with Chenin Blanc and has been part of the expression of the Skurfberg vineyard from the outset. The wine is concentrated, but this is one of the lower alcohol versions to date, and it is incredible to think that all of these aspects could be met by almost a percentage lower alcohol than usual. The vintage was warm and extreme, and we had to pick slightly earlier than expected.

Rotsbank 2022: This 2022 Rotsbank bottling displays flinty, almost crushed eggshell aromas with grapefruit and more tropical aspects once the initial minerality of the site gave way in the aromas. The wine is incredibly concentrated on the aromatics; the same concentration follows through on the palate. The tannins have massive tension, and the wine’s substantial acidity and dry finish suggest a wine that will only benefit much from time in the bottle. This very restrained and firm wine will pair exceptionally well with shellfish.

Mev. Kirsten 2022: The 2022 Mev. Kirsten displays tropical fruit aromas that migrate more to fresh apricot and ripe peaches and pears, so generally, stonefruit aromatics. Firm tannins and a grippy acidity uphold these slightly riper and larger fruit aromas. The wine’s structure and the fruit’s volume are incredibly concentrated without being sweet in any way or form. It is truly an incredible vineyard. Decantation helps but can never replace the actual effect of time.

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Have you ever heard about a great wine but could never find a bottle for yourself (to share with friends, of course)? Well, the team at Wine & Company do all the hard work for you! We visit wine farms and attend tastings to find, taste, and then stock wine from the smaller Estates and independent winemakers who buy grapes and produce outstanding wine under their own labels – much the same as the French negociants have been doing for centuries. Given that these winemakers make wine in such small quantities, sometimes just a single barrel, their wine will never be found on the shelves of the major retailers, but only in specialist shops like Wine & Company on High Street, Hermanus.

In addition to the great selection of well-known wines and MCC's, we also stock local craft gin and beer, French Champagne, Belgian Ales as well as whisky and other spirits. Wine & Company (established in 1998 by Bartho Eksteen) has a well-earned reputation for stocking hard-to-find small-batch wines and we strive to continue this great tradition. If you purchase a bottle of wine from us and it is faulty we will gladly replace the bottle and return the faulty wine to the winemaker.

Feel free to contact Wine & Company if you need a particular wine and we will do our best to source it for you. We are also able to ship wine locally and to most countries so do ask about international shipping.

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