As recently as the late 1980s — so in the dark days of political isolation and statutory state interference — there were fewer than 300 wineries in the country.
The majority were large, high-volume co-operative cellars processing the grapes of thousands of farmers who had vineyards but no means (other than their membership of the co-op) to transform their fruit into wine.
Today most of the co-ops have closed down or converted into corporate wineries, while some of the former grape growers have established their own (usually quite small) processing facilities.
This transformed production environment created a marriage market between landless winemakers seeking access to vineyards, and growers seeking producers willing to pay a premium for superior fruit. It also provided an ideal opportunity for entrepreneurial and talented individuals to ply their craft for their own account, rather than as factory managers working in an industrial environment.
Those who first adopted this model pioneered a way which many have subsequently followed. In fact it would be fair to say that the majority of premium new wine brands which have come to market in the past 25 years share this structure in common. Eben Sadie (of Sadie Family Vineyards) led and came to epitomise this approach. Today his enterprise is rock solid: however, when he launched it in 1999 its success was by no means guaranteed.
Along the way he has acquired several of the vineyards whose fruit is crucial to his range; what he doesn’t own he farms as if it were his own, rewarding the landowners with higher prices than they could have achieved had Sadie not rescued their fruit from the oblivion of the co-op crush.
Almost all of the Sadie Family wines are sold on allocation, but enough stock is directed to the retail trade to ensure that new enthusiasts get a chance to sample them. The latest release has just come to market — the 2022 Ouwingerdreeks and the 2021 Palladius and Columella. They are finely created, with an eye for balance, age-worthiness and nuance.
These releases range in quality from very good, to potentially great. My favourites were the Columella, the Palladius, and the Mev Kirsten chenin blanc, though I would happily consume the Treinspoer, the Skerpioen and the T’Voetpad. In a market where price is used as a proxy for quality, it’s refreshing to discover that all of the wines overdeliver at their recommended retail price.
If Sadie’s vision is fixed upon the harsh and unrelenting landscape of the Swartland, then Trizanne Barnard, whose Trizanne Signature Wines is fast becoming the next cult brand, directs her view towards vineyards which lie along the coastline. She combines great technical precision with a surprising lightness of touch: purity and nuance are the hallmarks of all her cuvées, so much so that unless they are given a little time to age, they almost appear flimsy at first sight.
I liked all of the wines in her Seascape series, though I was particularly impressed with her Sondagskloof White 2022 — gentle and layered, perfumed and completely seductive. At 12.5% alcohol it is fresh and precise, with wonderful elderflower aromas contributing a haunting floral note. I was equally taken by her 2022 Benede-Duivenshokrivier Chardonnay, pure and linear, and well worth the wait of a couple of years before it becomes completely expressive.
Her reds are striking, but in a subtle, often elusive way: the 2022 pinot (from a vineyard in the Hemel-en-Aarde) is among the best Cape examples I’ve tasted this year. Her Syrah (which has twice won best in class at the Trophy Wine Show) is as spicy as ever, while her newly released Barbera, with its textured tannins and crunchy red fruit notes, would inspire envy in its Italian heartland.
Her wines are also sold mainly on allocation, though there will be more about in the trade than there are of Sadie’s. Still, with a total production of less than 10,000 bottles, don’t waste too much time seeking them out.
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