The good color and firm acidity of this variety have made it a great and 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. Unfined and unfiltered – decanting recommended.
Eben Sadie is considered one of the great preservationists and visionaries in the new generation of South African winemakers. To Eben, the vineyard and fruit are part of the story—the truest expression of his art and philosophy. The wine writer Neal Martin recently called Sadie an “outspoken, peripatetic, terroir-obsessed winemaker who has been instrumental in putting Swartland on the map. He produces a small portfolio of comparatively expensive, but highly coveted wines based on Rhone varieties sourced from his seemingly never-ending search for pockets of old bush vines and unique terroirs. These are cerebral wines built to age.”
Region: Swartland Mountain Areas, South Africa
Year Founded: Sadie was founded in 1999, first wine was released in 2000
Proprietors: Eben Sadie
Winemaker: Eben Sadie
Size of property: 24 ha (59 acres), 53 different parcels of vine
Amount of Property Planted: An additional 12 ha will be planted with experimental plots of Xinomavro, Assyrtico, Negroamaro, Aglianico, Greco, Fiano, Massal Selections of Grenache Noir, Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, Pontac, Alicante Bouchet and more.
Terroir: Paardeberg Mountain (Granite) , Riebeek Mountain (Slate), Piquetberg (Sandstone & Quartz), Coastal Plain (Chalk Soils), Malmesbury (Glenrosa Terra Rossa Clay Soils)
Annual Production: 3,800 12/750ml cases
Varieties Cultivated: Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache, Carignan, Cinsaut, Tinta Barocca, Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanc, Viognier, Verdellho, Marsanne, Roussanne, Semillon Blanc, Semillon Gris, Palomino and others
Winemaker Notes