Provenance

Wine Cellar Private Client

Critics Ratings

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 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)

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 Kokerboom 2015
'Semillon blanc from Olifants River, raised in large old ‘stukvate’. Tight, austere 2015, while riper than 2014 (4.5 stars, 94 pts) & previous, retains its signature rapier-like acidity & stony elegance, weaves lemon blossom with brioche & scrub, demands much time to reveal well-concealed fruit.' - Platter's SA Wine Guide 2017, 5*

'Bright straw-yellow. Very sexy, musky, soil-driven aromas of nectarine, orange blossom, nuts and ginger. Large-scaled, broad and rich but not quite sweet, with captivating inner-mouth spicy perfume to the ripe yellow stone fruit, crushed stone, bitter almond and quinine flavors. A bit of unabsorbed CO2 contributes verve. Like these other whites from Eben Sadie, this wine's finish is phenolic, chewy and long, with terrific lift. Loads of flavor here, not to mention uncanny breadth, thorough ripeness and immediate appeal and great acidity to support slow development in the bottle. I raised my score for the wine's palate-staining persistence.' - Stephan Tanzer, Vinous, 95/100 (May 2017)

'The 2015 Old Vine Series Kokerboom (the 2017 was being pressed at the same time as I was tasting it) has an intriguing bouquet with orange blossom, sea spray, lanolin and grilled walnut aromas, like others developing more intensity as it aerated in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with beautiful balance in the mouth, a perfect combination of sweet and sour, a tincture of almond macaroon lending sweetness towards the finish. This is the best Kokerboom that I have tasted.' - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate, 95/100 (Apr 2017)

'Made with grapes from Henk Laing’s much-in-demand Trekpoort farm, this is a blend of 85-year-old Semillon Blanc and Gris. Herbal, focused and beautifully balanced, with aromas of dill and oregano, a hint of orange zest and a satisfying, saline finish. Another triumph. Drink: 2016-24' - Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2016, 97/100