Rotsbank

Tasting the new release whites from Eben Sadie is always one of the fine wine highlights of the year. With the 2023 wines now mostly safely in collectors’ cellars, I thought it would be a good time to publish my notes from a recent tasting at 67 Pall Mall in London where we drank these enthralling new white releases over dinner. Tasting is one thing, but drinking a fine wine is a completely different affair, allowing one to fully appreciate the wines.

As Eben Sadie showcases his new multi-million rand wine cellar on his Paardeberg farm, he has also decided to tweak his Old Vine Series range, renaming it the “Distriksreeks” or District Series, for reasons as he explains below.

“The South African wine industry, in a testament to its commitment to quality and authenticity, embraced the significance of origin in 1973. This commitment was further solidified by its enforcement through law, as the importance of demarcation and origin continued to grow. The districts, the most significant of these early demarcations, remain the cornerstone of the origin scheme. We essentially work with the following districts: SWARTLAND (Skerpioen, Pofadder, Treinspoor, Voetpad & Rotsbank, Columella & Palladius), CITRUSDAL MOUNTAIN (Skurfberg, Kokerboom & Soldaat) and last but not least, for good measure we work with STELLENBOSCH with the Mev. Kirsten vineyard. As time passed, we realised that our focus had moved to the regionality of the districts and their characteristics. We now want to highlight the notion of the individual terroirs rather than the mere age of the vines. The site will always be more important than any other singular condition.” – Eben Sadie

“This 2023 Rotsbank bottling displays match flint, almost crushed oyster shell aromas with grapefruit aspects. The wine is incredibly concentrated on the aromatics, and the tannins have massive tension. The wine’s substantial acidity and dry finish suggest that it will only benefit much from the time in the bottle. It is one of the most linear expressions of the year. It is a blue steel Chenin.” – Eben Sadie

Sadie Family Wines Die Distriksreeks Rotsbank 2023, 13.5% Abv.

Crystalline and star bright in the glass with a youthful green tinge, alluring struck flint reduction, crushed Granite minerality, crunchy green apple, and wet straw aromatics. Intense, linear, incredibly focused and precise with a big mid-palate breadth but a slightly clipped entry and finish in its youth. Give this time to fully flesh out and fill its frame. Drink from 2026 to 2038+.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

“For this 2023 Skurfberg vintage, we also opted to pick seemingly prematurely, as it is in the Citrusdal Mountains and shares the same seasonal dynamics. The physiology of the fruit seemed delayed, yet the wine also yielded 13.9% alcohol. The combination of the volume of the wine and the firm acidity makes for an incredible wine that is essentially built to last. The trademark granny smith apple, pear skin, and lanolin are very present in the aromas. The wine’s viscosity and volume, combined with the cutting acidity, suggest that this vintage has the mechanics to age incredibly well, like Kokerboom.” – Eben Sadie

Sadie Family Wines Die Distriksreeks Skurfberg 2023, 14% Abv.

Displays tight slightly muted aromatics. But notes of earthy bruised yellow orchard fruit, waxy lemon peel, savoury pithy grapefruit and crushed minerals fill the nose. Broad yet taut, fresh, intense and fantastically focused, the flavours are joined by white peach, pear puree, lanolin, wet stone minerality, lemon thyme and a hint of dried guava roll on the finish. Tightly wound but plenty more to come. Drink 2028 to 2040+.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Special neck tag on the Skurfberg commemorating vineyard owner Basie van Lill.

“The 2023 Mev. Kirsten displays limey, citrus and melba toast aromas being coated by a fresher aspect that spills over into pear skin and green apple pulp freshness that continues. The vintage’s trademark across all the Chenin Blanc vineyards is that we yielded full wines with beaming acidity and linear finishes. As a result, this is one of the more restrained vintages in character with incredible complexity. As always, the wine has a substantial volume and viscosity.” – Eben Sadie

Sadie Family Wines Die Distriksreeks Mev Kirsten 2023, 14% Abv.

The aromatics are packed with lemon and lime peel, green apple, dried green baking herbs, wet granite minerality and a hint of crunchy yellow peach. Full, rich, round and textural, the concentration is punchy, fabulously intense with a prickly acidity together with notes of quince, yellow apple, and a gentle herby fynbos finish. Simply superb. Drink from 2028 to 2040+.

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

“The 2023 Skerpioen displays the usual limey and citrus flavours associated with the vineyard. This wine’s distinctive saline qualities, salty taste, and minerality are again prominent. The Chenin and Palomino field blend is very stable annually in its expression. The tannins and the acidity are slightly softer than in the last two vintages, and this vintage could be savoured earlier as the balance and mouthfeel are already very balanced.” – Eben Sadie

Sadie Family Wines Die Distriksreeks Skerpioen 2023, 13% Abv.

Taut, pristine and crystalline, this is a next level, top drawer Skerpioen release with notes of wet slate, rain on granite, over pear and white citrus nuances. The palate echoes the nose, beautifully crystalline and pure, vibrantly fresh and precise with taut linear acids, a glassy texture, and a long intense saline stony finish. Wow! Drink from 2026 to 2036+.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

“This 2023 ‘T Voetpad displays limey, cordial, and citrus aspects with a racy entry point. The wine is firm and tightly coiled up, and it seems it is almost not ready to talk to us yet! It needs so much time. This vintage field blend is in perfect harmony, but we believe this will become one of the most age-worthy proponents. The wine is incredibly balanced and compact. We are looking forward to trying it again in 4 to 20 years to see where its development takes it.” – Eben Sadie

Sadie Family Wines Die Distriksreeks ‘T Voetpad 2023, 13.5% Abv.

A rich nuanced aromatics with plenty of wet straw notes, dried herbs, intense fynbos with a dusting of tea leaf dust. Medium to full bodied on the palate, deliciously joined up and harmonious, glycerol and fresh with tangerine, yellow peach and hints of yellow grapefruit on the long finish. A gastronomic marvel. Drink from 2028 to 2040+.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

“2023 Kokerboom displays the typical waxy, lanolin characters often associated with Semillon. For the second year running, we had very little rain in the Citrusdal Mountains, and the vineyard was in a stressful environment throughout the growing season. We opted again to pick the vineyard slightly earlier than what we naturally would be inclined to, and the wine still yielded 13,8% alcohol; notwithstanding its fresh appearance, it is mammoth wine. The tannins, acidity, overall texture, and volume in the wine are incredible, and we are in awe of the power of this terroir.” – Eben Sadie

Sadie Family Wines Die Distriksreeks Kokerboom 2023, 13.8% Abv.

A lovely expressive green apple and stemy aromatics with stalk spice, green herbs, thyme, sweet lemon, and delicious fynbos spice. Full and seductive on the palate, this is rich, intense and textured with herbs and spice, honied fig and apple puree.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Sadie Family Wines are imported into the UK by FMV / Berry Bros & Rudd.

After world Drink Chenin Blanc Day on the 8th of June, it’s important to sit back and reflect on just how far the South African wine industry has come in the past two decades with regards to producing quality Chenin Blanc from unique terroir sites, using incredible old vine vineyard fruit. Some of the expressions being produced in South Africa now by producers like Sadie Family Wines, Alheit Vineyards and others, represent the pinnacle of what is possible quality wise with this cultivar, that was once regarded as a simple work horse variety only worthy of high yields for the purposes of distillation, or at a stretch, bulk white wine production.

So, what better way to celebrate this truly unique cultivar than by tasting two wines from 2022 that have recently captured the imagination and interest of fine wine buyers and collectors the world over. Firstly, the Rotsbank Chenin Blanc 2022 that represents the maiden release under the Sadie Family Wines label of this Swartland vineyard.

Eben walking the Rotsbank vineyard thick with cover crops.

The Rotsbank vineyard is located in the Paardeberg in the Aprilskloof on a rock shelf just behind the back entrance of the Sadie Family farm that barely has 30 – 50 cm of soil in most parts. It is incredible to think that this vineyard survives year after year. Many of the roots in the soil have found cracks in this rock shelf, and the limited natural growth of this vineyard makes for incredibly concentrated fruit. Since 2008 Eben Sadie has wanted to produce a pure Swartland Chenin Blanc, but the 2022 vintage materialised as the first after he was very fortunate enough to get the opportunity to purchase the vineyard.

The Rotsbank Chenin Blanc vineyard in the Paardeberg, Swartland.

After harvesting, the Rotsbank Chenin Blanc grapes are placed in a cooling room to reduce the temperature since the average temperatures at harvest are often 35 degrees C or more – pressing warm grapes comes with a series of problems. They then do whole bunch pressing, a process that takes about 3 hours, during which time there is a margin of settling of the juice in the collecting tank. The juice is then transferred to two old foudres for fermentation. The wine is left in a cask on the fermentation lees for the first 12 months and is bottled directly from the fine lees. Only about 60ppm of sulphur is added two weeks before bottling.

The second wine tasted comes from the other great white wine maestro, Chris Alheit, who has over the past decade and a half, established himself as one of the most sought after premium white wine producers in South Africa. Magnetic North is also, like the Rotsbank, a single origin Chenin Blanc wine. Since its maiden vintage in 2013, this wine has become a perennial star in the Alheit line-up with an almost mythical reputation. Every vintage the wines manages to combine power and finesse in a way very few other Chenin Blanc vineyards from anywhere (not just the Cape) are able to do. So when Chris Alheit decided to “declassify” the Magnetic North for the 2022 vintage on account of it not having the requisite power and structure expected of a Magnetic North Chenin Blanc, a lot of eyebrows were raised.

But did the Magnetic North 2022 merit declassification? The grapes come from two ungrafted Skurfberg vineyards which Chris Alheit felt weren’t quite up to standard in 2022 and subsequently decided to release the wine as “Gone South” selling for almost half the price of a bottle of Magnetic North. For many, like Christian Eedes, the editor of Winemag.co.za in South Africa, it was considered Chris was perhaps being a little too overcautious, and a mega score of 98/100 was bestowed on the declassified Gone South 2022 regardless. So, what better two wines to examine in minute detail and put through their paces in a head-to-head, sighted, taste-off!?

Alheit Vineyards Gone South Chenin Blanc 2022, WO Citrusdal Mountain, 13% Abv.

A profound expression of Chenin Blanc that boasts complex aromatics of dried herbs, fresh hay, fynbos, crushed gravel, grated lemon peel and pithy yellow orchard stone fruits. A beautifully elegant harmonious creation with delicacy and finesse, incredible balance and harmony, and an impressive concentration of white peach, honied pear, and a beguiling liquid minerality with a classical saline maritime kiss on the finish. A very fine wine that is so deliciously mouthwatering and drinkable now. Outstanding.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Sadie Family Wines Old Vine Series Rotsbank Chenin Blanc 2022, WO Swartland, 13% Abv.

A thoroughly compelling offering from Eben that justifies his passion to make this his first single varietal Swartland Chenin Blanc in his range. Showing a hint of flinty reduction, the stony mineral characters give way to notes of wet hay, wet wool, quince puree, peach and honey, and the typical savoury bruised yellow orchard fruit character so common in Swartland. The massive concentration suggests a higher RS than the 1.5g/l level but obviously it’s simply the incredible dry extract that highlights the wines intensity, power and persistence. A flirty, opulent offering of old vine Chenin Blanc that has found a perfect home in Eben’s famous old vine series collection… the first new addition in 13 years. Bravo Eben!

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Alheit Vineyards Gone South was only released cellar door to the local South African market for circa £20pb (R495) but the other Alheit wines are available in the UK on allocation from Dreyfus Ashby. The Sadie Family Wines are available on allocation from FMV, the wholesale trade arm of Berry Brothers & Rudd for circa £50pb.