Highlights: Sadie Family Wines Twiswind 2024 & Sonvang 2024
These two newest Sadie Family wines are 20+ years in the making. Eben Sadie started the project back in 2002, future predicting grape varieties well suited to the weathered granite soils of his farm on the Paardeberg, with an eye focused on climate change.
Selecting plant material and ensuring it is virus free takes quite a long time, but visionary Eben has always been in it for the long game.
“Instead of making a blend, we’re planting a blend” notes Eben, with the goal whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
The two vineyards, Twiswind and Sonvang, are co-planted with 12 varieties each, from Mediterranean and Iberian roots. Eben selected varieties that are isohydric, prioritizing maintaining a stable, high leaf water potential by closing their stomata (small pores on leaves) to limit water loss, even under drought conditions.
While the young vines are picked in stages now, the plan is to co-harvest and co-ferment each vineyard in one go as the vines mature alongside the family’s familiarity with them. “The future is not in monoculture, or on single grape varieties.” These two young vineyards were planted to grow old.
I tasted both wines more than once during my time in South Africa earlier this month. *Goode and I visited with Eben in the vineyards back in 2019.
Twiswind 2024
To argue, or go against the wind, reflecting this super windy site on a south-western slope of coarse, well draining decomposed granite. This co-planted blend of Vermentino, Picepoul, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc, Cinsaut Blanc, Palomino, Chenin Blanc, Grillo, Assyrtiko, Verdelho, Clairette Blanche and Sémillon ripens early, preserving firm natural acidity. After pressing and native ferment, this moves to concrete tanks and old oak vats, where it remains for 11 months on lees. It has a brief stint back in tank prior to bottling. You can imagine the site when you taste this crisp, fresh, structural white, with buzzy energy streaking pithy lemon, green apple, crushed chalk and a slight stony slick of lees along the taut, finely tannic palate, finishing with lingering salinity. Tight and lean, though quite complete for its youth. Exciting and inspirational. 94/100
Sonvang 2024
The sun catch, reflecting the vineyard’s western sloping aspect and ability to absorb the afternoon sunshine. The co-planted blend of Alicante Bouchet, Agiorgitiko, Pontac, Bastardo do Castillo, Trincadera, Tinta Barocca, Lleudonder Pelut, Grenache Noir, Pinotage, Cinsaut, Counoise and Carignan was native fermented with 30% whole clusters over 25-30 days before basket pressing into concrete tanks and older foudres. After 11 months the wine is racked to tank for a stint prior to bottling. Juicy and peppery, this fresh, lofted blend leads with wild cherry, perfumed raspberry and a kiss of anise scented with scrubby rooibos and pink peppercorns. Tannins are finely grippy, taking this to a subtle smoked stone and lingering flake salt finish. This will really come into its own with greater vine age. 93/100
