Sadie Family Wines - Pofadder Cinsault 2021 (750ml)
Price: $105.00
| Producer | Sadie Family Wines |
| Country | South Africa |
| Region | Swartland |
| Varietal | Cinsault |
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Sku | 167577 |
| Size | 750ml |
For twenty years Eben Sadie has been working in South Africa’s rugged Swartland seeking to find isolated vineyards of old bush vines and unique terroirs from which he makes wines that are built to age. He came to Swartland in 1999 for its variety of soils and varied geology – chalk soils in some areas, granite, sandstone and alluvials elsewhere. Fairly warm and dry, the region lends itself to organic farming.
Sadie’s flagship wine is Columella, a syrah-based blend grown on slate, granite, sandstone and gravel first made in 2000. The quality of this wine continues to benefit from the experience gained over the 20 years of its production, reflecting the deeply research-based approach of the estate.
Several other bottlings are produced, including wines from Chenin Blanc, Semillon and co-fermented white field blends in addition to reds from Cinsault and Grenache among others. He is responding to the increasingly warmer climate by cultivating varietals that naturally do better in drier environments – such as the native grapes of Portugal, Sicily and southern Spain.
The estate has attracted a significant following not just for the extraordinary and relatively unknown terroirs from which the fruit is sourced but for the rigorous mindset of Eben Sadie himself. There is a strong pioneering spirit here. No compromises are made in the pursuit of making honest wines of quality.
Vinous: 97 Points
The 2021 Pofadder is pure Cinsault with 40% whole clusters aged in oak foudres for 12 months. It has an open and expressive nose with wild strawberry and raspberry scents light slatey aromas and touches of orange blossom. The palate is medium-bodied and framed by finely chiselled tannins beautifully poised balletic even. Tender yet intense you will not find a better Cinsault in South Africa. - By Neal Martin on August 2022 Eben Sadie is a man of two passions?wine and the wave. I?ve no doubt his family is also high up on his list but in my personal experience these are what he dreams about. Hopefully Sadie is still with us. He was about to celebrate a significant milestone by flying to Fiji to surf a famous but no doubt dangerous break. Couldn?t he just gather a few mates for a bit of karaoke? Far safer. Meeting him at his Swartland farm I made sure that I had time to visit his small vat-room and tour his new acquisition of the neighbouring Rotsvas farm. ?We essentially started as a very tiny property? Sadie explains his dog running perilously close to his bakkie (pick-up truck) as we inspect the vines. ?Of the original 17 hectares only 8.5 was great soil and so we planted three parcels: Slangdraai [snake bend] Twiswind [to argue with the wind] and Sonvang [sun-catch]. Still as it stands we never owned our old vines - we have about 25 hectares under lease contracts and those are predominantly very old parcels. There was one old vine parcel of Chenin Blanc that was literally 15 meters away from where our last vineyard stopped. I always walked there with my dogs and tasted the fruit over the last 15 years. I tried several times to buy it but there was never an option [on the table]. So in 2021 an opportunity presented itself whereby AA Badenhorst Wines and ourselves could buy the land that separated our properties. We managed to buy a small piece and Badenhorst the remainder [200 hectares]. So we are true neighbours now. It just so transpired that after 14 years another neighbour that also owned this specific old vine parcel of Chenin agreed to a sale. Thus we bought two pieces from two neighbours and now the property stands at 37.5 hectares. In addition we managed to acquire an exceptional two-hectare parcel named Rotsbank [rock shelf] and an additional five hectares of old vine Chenin Blanc called Antenna. Part of this parcel will ultimately make its way to Palladius once we have improved the viticulture and soil health. About 13 hectares of land have been cleared and we are currently planting cereals and legumes. It has incredible soil but we are in no hurry. For now there are enough new additions that we first need to understand and farm well. It presents a massive opportunity a responsibility we are happy to undertake. The timing is perfect since we have a solid permanent team in the vineyards. We have a junior team in the group that is being trained and educated now so they can grow with all the new responsibilities.? I ask Sadie about recent developments apropos vinification since I last visited. ?From 2015 we started trialing whole cluster and de-stemmed bunches to analyse the amount of acid that you lose in adding stems especially in dry vintages. Since 2021 I don?t do any punch-downs - just wet the cap and spread the yeast. The alcoholic ferments are longer about a month in concrete vats with no cooling as they peak at 24° to 25° Celsius. The Columella now spends six weeks on the skins.? I tasted through Sadie?s complete range of 2021s plus a couple of 2020s a week later with Rosa Kruger who has been instrumental in linking him with some of the Cape?s finest vineyards to create his much sought-after Old Vine Series. It?s probably playing the same old record in praising his entire range that possess so much nuance and character cerebral yet delicious wines that you want to study as much as imbibe. Sadie has always been candid and critical where appropriate occasionally scathing when it comes to his first vintages where his techniques were almost the antithesis of nowadays. I will let the tasting notes of his latest releases speak for themselves. Finally he mentioned his surfing adventure before signing off in his last message. ?Fiji is a significant undertaking? he wrote ?but I am excited. The rest is up to nature.? Just like wine eh?
Tim Atkin: 95 Points
Wine Advocate: 95 Points
Proving that Cinsault can be world-class and age-worthy the 2021 Old Vine Series Pofadder is deeper in color this year and has a focused core of crunchy red fruits and hints of roses with a lively mineral essence. Medium-bodied the wine has an ethereal mouthfeel fine mineral tension and an electric mid-palate that sashays with a seductive nature revealing its complexities and secrets. With precision and finesse the wine ends with lingering flavors of potpourri and wild raspberry. Bravo! I can't keep my hands off it.
