2023 Sadie Family Swartland Rotsbank
2023 Sadie Family Swartland Rotsbank

2023 Sadie Family Swartland Rotsbank

Highly Rated
Sadie Family Wines |Swartland |Chenin Blanc
A Swartland Chenin Blanc of unparalleled precision and minerality, sourced from an extraordinary granite-rich vineyard Eben Sadie pursued for 14 years, showcasing his mastery of site expression and craftsmanship.
Price:
$165.00
Stock:
Sold out
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Description

The 2023 Rotsbank marks the second release of this highly anticipated Swartland Chenin Blanc, sourced from a prized vineyard on the Paardeberg that Eben Sadie pursued for 14 years. This is a Chenin of extraordinary purity and precision, cementing its place among the most sought-after whites in South Africa.

The vineyard sits on a razor-thin granite rock shelf, which drastically limits vine growth and yields tiny, concentrated bunches. This unique terroir results in one of the most linear and mineral-driven expressions of Chenin Blanc in Sadie’s lineup. Cropped at just 32 hl/ha, the wine is fermented naturally and aged on its lees to build complexity and texture, before being bottled without filtration to capture the vineyard’s unfiltered essence.

Rotsbank delivers a thrilling combination of crystalline acidity, layered minerality, and exceptional finesse. Its steely backbone and mouthcoating finish suggest it will age beautifully, evolving further in both depth and detail.

This is a truly compelling wine, showcasing Eben Sadie’s mastery and the singular potential of Swartland Chenin Blanc. Allocations are minuscule, so securing a bottle is an opportunity to experience a future icon in its formative years.

98 points
"Fantastic complexity and energy to this Chenin Blanc, showing slate, seashell, chamomile, thyme, lime peel, and Asian pear aromas with a sprinkling of aniseed. Incredibly lively and tense on the medium- to full-bodied palate, with tightness, steeliness, and a rocky minerality... This will go a long way."
- Claire Nesbitt (James Suckling)

98 points
"Part of a trilogy of Chenin Blancs... this is a brilliant second release from very bony, decomposed granite soils on the Paardeberg. Perfumed, elegant, steely and refined, with Grand Cru Chablis-like focus and intensity."
- Tim Atkin MW (South Africa Report 2024)

97 points
"The sophomore 2023 Rotsbank... has exquisite balance and energy, real complexity and drive. Rapidly staking a claim to be Eben Sadie's finest wine in a stellar portfolio."
- Neal Martin (Vinous)

98 points - "Fantastic complexity and energy to this Chenin Blanc, showing slate, seashell, chamomile, thyme, lime peel, and Asian pear aromas with a sprinkling of aniseed. Incredibly lively and tense on the medium- to full-bodied palate, with tightness, steeliness, and a rocky minerality. Dry and salty at the end. From bush vines planted in 1987 in decomposed granite soils in the Paardeberg area. This will go a long way. Drink or hold." - Claire Nesbitt (James Suckling)

98 points - "Part of a trilogy of Chenin Blancs - and the only one from Eben Sadie's base in the Swartland - this is a brilliant second release from very bony, decomposed granite soils on the Paardeberg. Perfumed, elegant, steely and refined, it has a Grand Cru Chablis-like focus and intensity, all wet stones and oyster shell, with rock salt and fresh lime flavours and the seamless concentration of its 39-year-old bush vines." - Tim Atkin MW (South Africa Report 2024)

97 points - "The sophomore 2023 Rotsbank is the only Chenin that evolves a gunflint tincture, according to Eben Sadie. That comes through on the nose, which has more complexity than the Skurfberg this year. Pear, honeysuckle, crushed stone and light walnut scents blossom in the glass. The palate has exquisite balance and energy, real complexity and drive, and an almost penetrating finish that demands the finest oysters known to mankind. This is rapidly staking a claim to be Eben Sadie's finest wine in a stellar portfolio." - Neal Martin (Vinous)

Swartland. Having coveted the site for a decade and a half, Eben finally got his hands on these 40-year-old vines in 2021. “We have always maintained that we would only bottle a Swartland Chenin if it could be from this vineyard,” Eben tells us. “It might have been a long 14 years of waiting to get our hands on this vineyard, but it was simply worth it in every respect.”

It is located in the Paardeberg and planted on a very shallow rock shelf, “Rotsbank”. This leads to minimal vine growth as the topsoil is exceptionally shallow. The reserves are always scant, and the general shoot length and bunch sizes are much smaller than in the surrounding Chenin vineyards. These early releases are clearly special, yet Eben believes there is more to come, noting: “We have spent much time and capital over the past three seasons to elevate this vineyard to the highest level, and within a year or two, we expect an even greater response from the soils.”

Cropped at 32 hl/ha and bottled at just over 13%, the new release is a frighteningly good essay in tension. The wine’s substantial acidity and mouthcoating dry finish suggest it will only benefit from the time in the bottle. It is one of the most linear expressions of the year. “It is a blue steel Chenin,” quips Sadie.

Price Bracket $101 and Above
Type White
Body Medium Bodied
Variety Chenin Blanc
Country South Africa
Region Swartland
Feature High Score
Reviewed By James Suckling
Critic Score 98
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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