2023 Sadie Family Stellenbosch Mev. Kirsten
2023 Sadie Family Stellenbosch Mev. Kirsten

2023 Sadie Family Stellenbosch Mev. Kirsten

Highly Rated
Sadie Family Wines |Stellenbosch |Chenin Blanc
Price:
$365.00
Stock:
Sold out
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Description

Mev. Kirsten is one of South Africa’s most celebrated white wines, crafted from the country’s oldest Chenin Blanc vineyard, planted between 1905 and 1920 in Stellenbosch’s Jonkershoek Valley. This historic site, nestled at the foot of Bothmaskop Mountain, sits on decomposed sandstone and granite soils, contributing to the wine’s singular character and precision.

Eben Sadie has tended to this revered one-hectare vineyard since 2006, using meticulous interplanting of mass-selection cuttings to sustain the ancient vines. The wine ferments naturally in old foudre with plenty of solids and matures on fine lees for 12 months before bottling, unfiltered. Each bottle reflects both the heritage of the vineyard and Sadie’s exacting craftsmanship.

The 2023 vintage offers incredible structure and depth, with a taut linearity underscored by remarkable acidity and a rich, textured palate. It balances power with elegance, showing an impressive ability to evolve in the glass and the cellar.

This is a wine designed for patience; Eben recommends a decade in the bottle to unlock its full potential. For those who can’t wait, a long decant will help reveal its layers. With minuscule quantities available, this rare gem is a testament to the profound potential of South African Chenin Blanc.

99 points
"Mev Kirsten is the oldest Chenin Blanc vineyard in the Cape... I can't recall a better release of this wine, which feels like the product of a lifetime's work. Serious, concentrated and intense, with remarkable focus and vivacity."
- Tim Atkin MW (South Africa Report 2024)

97 points
"A wildly concentrated white, exuding ripe yellow and tropical fruit such as mango, melon, lemon curd, and apple crumble. Tied together on the palate with refreshing citrusy acidity. Full-bodied and generous, yet focused. Chenin Blanc from Jonkershoek Valley, including vines planted in 1905."
- Claire Nesbitt (James Suckling)

96 points
"The 2023 Mev. Kirsten... has superb weight and density, with an irresistible, slightly viscous texture counterbalanced by a keen thread of acidity. Fabulous from beginning to end."
- Neal Martin (Vinous)

99 points - "It doesn't look like much up close - a few vines at the bottom of the Jonkershoek Valley overshadowed by an electricity pylon - but Mev Kirsten is the oldest Chenin Blanc vineyard in the Cape, planted in 1905 on decomposed sandstone and alluvial granite soils. I can't recall a better release of this wine, which feels like the product of a lifetime's work. Serious, concentrated and intense, this has layers of oatmeal, pear, citrus, lanolin and dried honey, remarkable focus and vivacity and the concentration to develop beautifully in bottle." - Tim Atkin MW (South Africa Report 2024)

97 points - "A wildly concentrated white, exuding ripe yellow and tropical fruit such as mango, melon, lemon curd, and apple crumble. Tied together on the palate with refreshing citrusy acidity. Full-bodied and generous, yet focused. Chenin Blanc from Jonkershoek Valley, including vines planted in 1905." - Claire Nesbitt (James Suckling)

96 points - "The 2023 Mev. Kirsten is perhaps the most closed of the three Chenins, unfolding with time to reveal scents of yellow fruit, oyster shell and a touch of lanolin. The palate has superb weight and density—the most fruit-driven Chenin, with an irresistible, slightly viscous texture counterbalanced by a keen thread of acidity. It’s even a little petrolly on the finish. Fabulous from beginning to end." - Neal Martin (Vinous)

Stellenbosch. Sadie has been working with Chenin off this “truly incredible” granite vineyard at 220 metres on the foot of Bothmaskop Mountain in Stellenbosch’s Jonkershoek Valley since 2006. With most of the vines planted between 1905 and 1920, the mere one hectare (belonging to Mrs Kirsten and her family) is recognised as the oldest Chenin Blanc in South Africa. Due to the age of the vines, Sadie has been interplanting mass-selection cuttings to prolong the vineyard’s life, though the younger vines are vinified separately. In time, the younger fraction will also be included in the blend.

Eben describes this hyper-rare wine as his most powerful and structured Chenin Blanc, juxtaposing silky elegance with immense texture, density and power. It ferments in an old foudre with lots of solids and is bottled unfiltered after 12 months of aging. The wine possesses the beaming acidity and linear shape of all Sadie’s 2023 Chenin Blanc and is simply one of the more restrained and complex vintages for this box-office Chenin. Eben urges clients to give this wine the benefit of time in the bottle, noting it needs a decade to reveal its full potential. If you can’t wait, a decanter will help!

Price Bracket $101 and Above
Type White
Body Full Bodied
Variety Chenin Blanc
Country South Africa
Region Stellenbosch
Feature High Score
Reviewed By James Suckling
Critic Score 99
96
97
Size 750ml
Vintage 2023
Closure Cork

Sadie Family Wines

One of the tearaway producers of the revitalised Swartland wine scene, Sadie Family Wines has had an astronomical rise to fame on the international stage.

Owner and winemaker, Eben Sadie, first found acclaim under the banner of Terroir Al Limit where he was a co-founder alongside Dominik Huber. In the same way that Terroir Al Limit helped redefine what wine could taste like from Priorat in Spain, Sadie handles his family wines and vines with that same ruthless attention to detail.

These wines perfectly articulate a sense of place. Sadie's transparency in winemaking and obsessive farming practices reveal intense, tightly-wound wines with distinct personality. These are now some of South Africa's most keenly sought-after artisan wines. Worldwide allocations are minuscule and hotly contested. As little as a handful of bottles make it to Australia each year. Secure these rare birds while you can.

Eben Sadie in the vineyard Sadie Family Wines

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