Provenance

Wine Cellar Private Collection

Critics Ratings

Sadie Family Treinspoor 2015
'Located in the cooler, Darling side of the Swartland on sandy-loam soils, this is a rare outing for Tinta Barocca as a dry red in the Cape. Showing the tannins that make it such a good variety for fortified wines, it’s mineral, dry and firm, with bright acidity, redcurrant and raspberry fruit and the concentration to age. Drink: 2016-22' - Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2016, 94/100

'The 2015 Old Vine Series Treinspoor, Eben's Tinta Barocca cuvée, which he said has "the biggest passport in South Africa" since the grape has been grown there for a long time for fortified wine production, has a lucid ruby color. Eben told me that it is actually one of his most difficult sells but I am of the opinion that it is one of his best wines. Darker in colur than then other OVS labels, it has a captivating bouquet with raspberry, cranberry leaf, tobacco and damp wet clayey aromas. The palate has firm tannin that Eben compared to Piedmont, which I can understand. The acidity is beautifully judged with killer salinity and mineralité on the finish that both linger in the mouth. This is an outstanding South African wine.' - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, 96/100 (Apr 2017)

Sadie Family Pofadder 2015
‘The 2015 Old Vine Series Pofadder, the 100% Cinsault from Eben Sadie, come from slate soils that are not decomposed. It has a pure and mineral-driven bouquet, beautifully defined with red cherries and crisp strawberry fruit, a stoniness tucked just underneath. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp acidity, tensile and linear, brimming with freshness and energy with raspberry and just a tinge of black cherry on the finish. Superb Cinsault, nuanced and detailed, an intellectual wine that will age with style. Drink 2018 - 2030.’ – Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, 94/100 (Apr 2017)

‘Grown on the red slate soils of Riebeek Kasteel, this pale, elegant, nuanced Cinsault was fermented with 100% whole bunches and has the clove and pepper spice notes to prove it. The youngster of the old vine series (the vineyard is only 48 years old), it’s floral, scented and beautifully balanced. Drink: 2016-21.’ – Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2016, 95/100

Sadie Family Soldaat 2015
'The 2015 Old Vine Series Soldaat is one of the few labels from Eben that is still 100% whole bunch, aged in concrete only. It has a brambly red berry fruit, a slight granitic note overlayed by wilted rose petal. The palate is very fresh and vibrant on the entry, perhaps a little more body and density than previous vintages that I have tasted, with immense purity and varietal expression on the finish. This is excellent and a very strong follow-up to the 2014.' - Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, 94/100 (Apr 2017)

'High-pitched, with bright savory and shiso leaf notes out front, giving this a piercing feel as blood orange, damson plum and bitter cherry fruit races in behind. The long, mineral-edged finish has lovely tension.' - James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, 93/100 (Mar 2017)

Sadie Family Skerpioen 2015
'The 2015 Old Vine Series Skerpioen is the Chenin/Palomino cuvée. It is reticent on the nose and demands encouragement, with slight resinous scents with a touch of Jasmine. The palate is where the character lies with walnut, orange rind, potent salinity and an effervescent, vivacious spiciness towards the finish that is driven along by the acidity (the highest among Eben's OVS series in this vintage). This is excellent.' - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, 94/100 (Apr 2017)

'(14%; aged in a concrete egg and old vats; from old vines planted on chalky soil in one of the coolest locations in the Swartland): Pale, clear straw-yellow. Sexy, subtly complex scents of lanolin, apple, smoky minerals, elderflower and botanical herbs; smells salty! Then wonderfully supple yet penetrating and firm in the mouth, offering terrific definition and lift to its lemon and saline flavors; as brisk as this is, it's also got terrific breadth and texture without weight. Even more closed than the 2014 was two years ago but this should make a brilliant bottle in two or three years and last well. A bit less fruity than the Skurfberg but even chewier and more vibrant, and long on the uncompromisingly dry finish. Really stimulates the olfactories.' - Neal Martin, Vinous, 94/100 (Apr 2017)

'One of the few sites with limestone in the Swartland, this remarkable, dry-farmed vineyard is planted with Chenin and Palomino. The result is as brilliant as ever: saline, refreshing and sculpted, with mealy, leesy complexity and a pithy, ocean breeze finish. Stunning. Drink: 2016-22' - Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2016, 97/100

Sadie Family T'Voetpad 2015
'A blend of Semillon Blanc, Semillon Gris, Chenin Blanc, Palomino and Muscat, the 2015 Old Vine Series T Voetpad has a strict, linear bouquet that needed the most encouragement from the glass out of all Eben's 2015s. The palate is beautifully balanced and packed full of flavor: orange rind, bitter lemon, sea salt, lanolin and a touch of hazelnut, fanning out beautifully towards the finish that demonstrates superb vigor. This is a blistering follow-up to the 2014 and two minutes after the wine has departed, you can still feel the mouth tingling with salinity.' – Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, 97/100 (Apr 2017)

'A Swartland field blend of Chenin Blanc, Muscat, Palomino, Semillon and Semillon Gris, planted in stages from 1900 to 1928. The 2015 has a captivating nose of pear, peach and citrus plus dried herbs and a certain talcum-powder-like quality. The palate is quite beautiful – pure, fresh and textured. Nothing exaggerated about it, while the finish is extraordinarily long. It’s both immediately appealing and entirely intellectually satisfying. Pretty close to complete.' - Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 96/100 (Aug 2016)

Sadie Family Skurfberg 2015
'The 2015 Old Vine Series Skurfberg, Eben Sadie's pure Chenin Blanc was picked late afternoon and driven to the winery through the night when it is cooler. It offers attractive aromas of lanolin, nutmeg, nectarine and peach skin, well defined and gaining intensity all the time with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp acidity, smoked walnut, bitter lemon and a pinch of white pepper, developing more and more intensity with time. This is sublime.' - Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, 93/100 (Apr 2017)

'Admittedly this is a very serious wine to be drinking so young, but its profound lifted aromatics and complexity already in its infancy are so attractive and beguiling that I would have to recommend drinking this wine at as many stages of its development as the number of bottles in your cellar will allow. On opening, the aromatics are very much spicy, pithy and dominated by dried thyme, tarragon and sweet fennel, with a subtle but defined under vein of crushed granite minerality. 10 minutes in the glass is all that’s required to unleash wave upon wave of pear purée, pithy orange peel, tangerine, crunchy white peaches and other white citrus notes. The palate is almost overpoweringly intense – yet light footed, elegant, incredibly focused, intense and sensorial. The palate resonates with delicious notes of sweet white citrus, green apples, picante orange peel, and a forceful, tart acidity that melts away into the fruit concentration, leaving your mouth salivating for another sip. I often compare great Chenin Blanc from South Africa with great white Burgundy, because few wines can pull off this kind of depth, intensity, and fruit concentration punch with taught bristling acidity, yet remain regal, noble, sophisticated and utterly compelling. This 2015 is a wine that might well define a new generation of quality, from a vintage that already defines supreme quality in the modern era of wine making in South Africa.' - Greg Sherwood MW, 97+/100 (Sep 2017)

'From Olifantrivier Chenin Blanc vineyards planted between 1940 and 1955, the wine has a gorgeous nose of pear, apple, white peach and dried herbs. The palate displays exceptionally pure fruit and great freshness before a long and pithy finish. Extraordinarily direct in the sense of the fruit of a great site in a great vintage beautifully interpreted by the winemaker. The Skurfberg 2015 joins the 2005 and 2006 vintages of Boekenhoutskloof Noble Late Harvest as the wines with the highest ratings ever on this site.' - Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 97/100 (Aug 2016)