Sadie Family Wines with the Jeroboam Club

A tasting last night of Sadie Family (Eben Sadie) wines with the Jeroboam Club in Bristol. 15 wines, 12 different labels. My favourite white was the Rotsbank Chenin 2022. By a distance the youngest wine in the tasting - but then the vineyard was only recently acquired and this is the first and so far only vintage to be produced. Lovely, subtle wine but with Burgundian depth. Still very young but the class is evident. I then went for the T'Voetpad 2015, a field blend of Semillon blanc and gris, Palomino, Chenin and Muscat - the latter was perhaps what gave it its super appealing juiciness and sweetness of fruit. A gorgeous, fresh, pure and complex nose. Full and round in the mouth but not at all overdone, showing good energy and persistence. The group had the Rotsbank as white WOTN, followed by Palladius 2009 and Mev Kirsten 2015. Some of the whites (but not those) had an oxidative component that I didn't find attractive.

Of the six reds, my favourite was the Columella 2014, a blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan and Cinsaut sourced from eight different vineyards across a variety of regions. I found this very vivid and immediate, with lovely purity of red and black fruits to which tar and liquorice notes added complexity. It seemed very 'present' in the mouth with decent energy and balance and still a dusting of tannin. I had this narrowly ahead of the 2015 of the same wine, which was in a very different idiom, reflecting the much warmer growing conditions. The fruit was certainly ripe, and nicely complemented by a streak of violets, but there was some raisiny notes that were out of place, and a bit of a sweaty character. It was much bigger in the mouth than the 14, with good energy and grip, but a decent finish, but it was a bit diffuse to me, lacking the precision of the 14. The group had these wines the other way around, with the 15 being the red WOTN, followed by the 14, then the Pofadder 2017 (100% Cinsault).

Selected notes only below.

• 2022 Sadie Family Chenin Blanc Rotsbank

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

  By a distance the youngest wine in the tasting - but then the vineyard was only recently acquired and this is the first and so far only vintage to be produced. Lovely, subtle wine but with Burgundian depth. Still very young but the class is evident.

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• 2015 Sadie Family T'Voetpad

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

  A field blend of Semillon blanc and gris, Palomino, Chenin and Muscat - the latter was perhaps what gave it its super appealing juiciness and sweetness of fruit. A gorgeous, fresh, pure and complex nose. Full and round in the mouth but not at all overdone, showing good energy and persistence.

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• 2014 Sadie Family Columella

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

  A blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan and Cinsaut sourced from eight different vineyards across a variety of regions. I found this very vivid and immediate, with lovely purity of red and black fruits to which tar and liquorice notes added complexity. It seemed very 'present' in the mouth with decent energy and balance and still a dusting of tannin. I had this narrowly ahead of the 2015 of the same wine, which was in a very different idiom, reflecting the much warmer growing conditions. My #1 red of the evening, the group's #2.

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• 2015 Sadie Family Columella

  South Africa, Coastal Region, Swartland

  In a very different idiom from the 14, reflecting the much warmer growing conditions. The fruit was certainly ripe, and nicely complemented by a streak of violets, but there was some raisiny notes that were out of place, and a bit of a sweaty character. It was much bigger in the mouth than the 14, with good energy and grip, but a decent finish, but it was a bit diffuse to me, lacking the precision of the 14. Nevertheless the group's #1 (my #2).

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The highs here were very high, but there was quite a lot of variation across the range and I feel there are better options out there in many instances, especially once one factors in price (even at release - assuming one can get any - but especially in the secondary market).