From the Fine Wine Safari Cellar – Part 5: Sadie Family Wines Die Ouwingerdreeks Treinspoor Tinta Barocca 2013 Swartland Red…

November 21, 2025November 21, 2025 ~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 4 Comments

This old vineyard for the Treinspoor Old Vine Series red was planted in 1974 and lies on the western side of Malmesbury, on route to Darling. Historically Tinta Das Baroccas (the earlier pronunciation) has always had a good, prominent place in the Swartland region (who doesn’t love Allesverloren’s Tinta Barocca with an artisanal pizza!?) This vineyard is located next to the old railway line (treinspoor) and was named accordingly, grown on decomposed Granite and Table Mountain sandstone soils with yields of circa 18 hectolitres per hectare. (In the early days, I was told Eben found this vineyard when he was driving past and saw heavy JCB diggers about to rip up this venerable old vineyard. After discussions with the owner, he offered to farm it offering a considerably higher grape price and so the farmer decided to save the vineyard. But I stand to be corrected on this!)

The very fragile thin skin of Tinta Barocca is prone to sunburn, but in this case, the old bush vines have formed a great framework to keep the bunches sheltered from the intense Swartland sun. The good colour and firm acidity of this variety have made it a favourite component in blends from the outset. However, once a Tinta Barocca vineyard has grown into old age, it has all the complexities and qualities to be bottled on its own. On the Sadie Family website, Eben Sadie suggests this wine can easily age up to 18+ years. On the current showing at almost 13 years old, I would suggest this is a fairly conservative assessment.

The Sadie Family Ageing Guide:

Treinspoor VERSION 1: 1-4 years; VERSION 2: 10 – 18 years

“The reality is that Tinta Barocca is a big temperament grape with the demeanour and makeup to age. The entire being of this grape and liquid construction is made for the future. It drinks well young with a big steak and a plate of triple-fired potato chips, but as a wine on its own or down a white tablecloth and some fine dining, it requires the wait.” – Eben Sadie

Sadie Family Wines Die Ouwingerdreeks Treinspoor 2013, WO Swartland, 13% Abv.

This is a really impressive wine that shows an incredibly vibrant red cherry and red plum skin colour in the glass. Tasted from a Zalto Universal glass, the aromatics continue to evolve over one, two, three hours with top notes of gentle spicy leafy sapidity, hints of crushed Granite dust, red currants, red plum skins, dried herbs, and freshly sawn oak notes. On the palate, the wine shows an intricate juxtaposition between a gently mellowing textural savoury bottle age alongside fresh, vibrant, pithy cherry fruits, red plums, and salty red liquorice candies. You get the sense that the tannins were once fairly rustic, but now with the benefit of time, show a chalky liquid minerality – fine grained, creamy and soft but still an imposing element of the wine’s structure. This is a beautiful expression of Tinta Barocca. If you are lucky enough to still have a few bottles in your cellar, start drinking now and over the next 10 years. But certainly no rush! I am very pleased I managed to “lose” a case of this wine in my cellar. This was my first bottle of six.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Tasting a Beautiful Pair of Wines from the Jasper Wickens Swerwer Range…

December 21, 2022December 21, 2022 ~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Jasper Wickens started working with Adi Badenhorst at the Kalmoesfontein property in the Paardeberg in 2009 and was a central character in the whole Swartland Revolution movement. As the dynamic Swartland movement gathered pace, Jasper met his now wife, Franziska Wickens (néé Schreiber), who is the third generation of a Swartland farming family in the Siebritskloof Valley in the Paardeberg and studied viticulture at Elsenberg with a focus on cellar management. Their relationship grew at a similar pace to the popularity of the Swartland’s red and white wines and were finally married in 2016 on Franziska’s Waterval farm.

Exactly 10 years after he first moved to the Paardeberg, Jasper completed his final harvest at AA Badenhorst Family Wines in 2018 as he prepared to move full time into the repurposed wine cellar at his Waterval farm next door to focus on his own Swerwer range that was established back in 2012 with the sole purpose of creating authentic “wines of place” that represented the true essence of their local terroirs. Franziska owns and manages extensive family vineyard plantings and now supplies some of the most sought after Swartland grapes to producers such as JH Meyer, AA Badenhorst, Blacksmith Wines, Paul Jordaan’s Bosberaad, John Seccombe, Samantha Suddons’ Vinevenom label and Martin Lamprecht’s Marras label.

Jasper’s Swerwer range is now quite extensive and includes, among others, a Chenin Blanc, an old vine skin contact Tiernes Chenin Blanc, a Semillon Gris, as well as reds made from Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Tinta Barocca and Touriga Nacional. Jasper is undoubtedly making some of the most exciting wines in the Swartland that will surely become a lot harder to buy as his reputation for quality continues to grow year by year. So if you haven’t tasted the wines from his Swerwer range yet, the Chenin Blanc and his Red Blend made from Cinsault, Grenache, and Tinta Barocca are the perfect place to start your discovery. Jasper is definitely a Swartland producer to follow closely.

JC Wickens Swerwer Chenin Blanc 2020, WO Swartland, 13.5% Abv.

This is another beautifully expressive Chenin Blanc from warm granitic mountain slopes in the Swartland region. Jasper and Franziska Wickens own and farm some truly profound vineyards in the Paardeberg area and this Chenin Blanc is a classically styled steely white shaped by its decomposed granitic terroir. The aromatics are cool and supremely mineral with layers of crushed gravel, dried green herbs, oatmeal biscuits, lemon rind, yellow orchard fruits and sweet wet hay nuances. The palate reveals lovely textural tension and fruit / acid intensity without losing any elegance and precision, showing plenty of pineapple pastille, bruised yellow orchard fruits, wet river pebble minerality and a pithy, leesy finish. This is a wine that speaks volumes of its origin, expresses its unique terroir and seduces the drinker in doing so. There are many far more expensive Swartland Chenin Blancs on the market but few which reach this level of complexity and palate-appeal for a similar price. Drink now and over the next 5 to 8 years.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Cinsault and Grenache were sourced from vineyards growing on well drained, granite soils. Cinsault was often known as the workhorse variety and of the rare Grenache only very few old vineyards remain. Tinta Barocca has proved itself in the Swartland already for decades and completes this traditional blend. Here it is sourced from a warmer clay–rich vineyard.

JC Wickens Swerwer Red Blend 2020, WO Swartland, 13% Abv.

An eclectic blend of Cinsault, Grenache, and Tinta Barocca make for a truly delicious Swartland red blend. The deep, dark aromatic base notes of the Grenache and Tinta Barocca are raised out the glass by the delicate rose petal perfumed lift of the Cinsault before more complex notes of cured meats, bramble berries, red cherries, cola, and Turkish delight come to the fore. The palate is both compact, concentrated, and sleek but also wonderfully light on its feet, enlivened by a mouth-watering red berry acidity, hints of cranberry, wild strawberry and smoky, meaty charcuterie savoury nuances. This certainly is a very impressive versatile red that can be sipped on its own or paired with almost any food dishes. Jasper Wickens is truly a master craftsman and this fabulous red is a tribute to his winemaking skills. Drink now and over the next 3 to 5+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wines available in the UK through Museum Wines.

https://www.museumwines.co.uk/shop/?_sft_wine_brand=swerwer

Tasting the Sadie Family Wines Old Vine Series Treinspoor 2018 Tinta Barocca…

December 14, 2019 ~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Made from 44 year old Tinta Barocca sourced from a vineyard in the Swartland planted in 1974, the new 2018 Treinspoor release appears to have found yet another gear of superior quality not often seen with this variety in South Africa.

Reading my back notes on previous vintages for Treinspoor, I noted my own enthusiastic score for the 2016 while Eben Sadie regarded the 2015 as one of his finest expressions. This 2018 certainly has an elegance and sophistication I’ve not seen on any Tinta Barocca reds from South Africa before. Chatting to Eben about Tinta Barocca in the past, he always says he feels that this red grape Tinta Barocca “might well transport the Swartland terroir best into liquid form, purely because it captures the soils and the earthiness of the place.”

Sadie Family Wines Old Vine Series Treinspoor 2018, Swartland, 13 Abv.

This 2018 aged in old foudres really is a delicious, supremely impressive rendition of one of the slightly less acclaimed reds in the Old Vine Series wine range. Possibly the most seductive vintage produced to date, this incredible Swartland Tinta Barocca boasts a wonderfully perfumed nose of fresh lavender, incense, fynbos and garrigue over a plush aromatic melange of blueberry reduction, black cherry and wood smoked dried herbs. The palate is cool, complex and compact with a fine soft fleshy black berry concentration that shows hints of Parma violet rock candy, grape jelly, pink musk, granitic minerality and finely textured chalky tannins. But it’s the overall harmonious balance paired with a regal intensity and freshness that just possibly elevates this 2018 expression to the finest Treinspoor Eben Sadie has produced so far. A very impressive wine indeed!

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Sadie Family Old Vine Series Treinspoor 2016 from the Swartland Strikes the Grand Jackpot…

July 21, 2017July 21, 2017 ~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 1 Comment

Having just tasted Duncan Savage’s new 2016 Are We There Yet? Touriga Nacional based blend, reinforced again what great potential these “alternative” warm climate varieties have in a future South African wine landscape. While this was Duncan’s first release, Eben Sadie on the other hand is already half a decade into the Treinspoor releases.

Made from 42 year old Tinta Barocca sourced from a vineyard in the Swartland, the 2016 new release appears to have reached a nouveau of quality not seen before for this variety in South Africa. This latest bottling rides on a wave of lifted perfumed perfection, with intense red cherry pastille, parma violets, rose water and sweet jasmine all mingling with seductive, piecing red and black bramble berry fruits. The palate shows a vibrant focus and purity of fruit I don’t recall ever seeing to this degree on this wine before. There are lashings of sweet cherry sherbet bon bons, pink musk sweets, red currant confit , purple nastergal (African nightshade berry), and tart Victoria plums. Wonderful concentration, palate tingling acidity freshness and superb harmonious depth. The ‘poor cousin’ in the Old Vine Series has just hit the jackpot and is riding high. Drink now to 2030+

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

The new Sadie Family Cellar in the Swartland

I guess it makes complete sense then when Eben says he feels that this red grape Tinta Barocca “might well transport the Swartland Terroir best into liquid form, purely because it captures the soils and the earthiness of the place.”