2017 Sadie Family, Columella “Liberatus in Castro Bonae Spei” Proprietary Red, Swartland, South Africa.
The Columella by Eben Sadie, as I’ve said before, is one of the great wines of the world, with this 2017 vintage, joining the 2012, being some of the finest Rhône blends I’ve ever tasted, without a doubt. Eben Sadie, the winemaker, is a legend and no one in the wine industry has anything but admiration for him and his wines, and while largely South African wines remain a mystery to most of the public, Sadie’s wines are nothing short of world class brilliant. This dark purple/garnet 2017 Columella, named after Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella who was a prominent Roman writer on agriculture during the Roman Empire, is deep and chocolatey textural in mouth feel and depth, similar to last experience with it, showing off blueberry compote, boysenberry, earthy mulberry and damson plum fruits, along with black olive, crushed violet, peppercorn, subtle bacon/meaty essence, lavender, melted black licorice, cedary notes cigar box, crushed stone, leather and lingering creme de cassis. Stunning stuff, still firm and youthful, this wine looks set to get even better with more age, but I would have to put the Sadie Family Columella high on my dessert island list. The Columella is sourced from at least 4 vineyard sites with a complex combination of soils, including lots of different granite, slate, schist, gravel and sandstone will all the grapes fermented without any additions in open top concrete vats with some whole cluster and hand punch downs. After primary is complete the wine getting a small basket pressing to French barrels, with just 5% new oak where it ages 12 months, afterwards it is moved to, what the winery says, big oval casks (foudres) for an additional year of maturation on the fine lees.
As I’ve said before, It’s no secret these Sadie Family wines are amazing wines, and the Columella, which has been made since 2000, is their signature wine, though I also love the single varietal offerings here as well, including the 100% Cinsault and Tina Barroca bottlings, as well as the white blend. In the past importer Broadbent Selections was kind enough to sample some of these wines, but they are rare and highly coveted, so I don’t get my hands on them often, so I was with great gratitude I was able to try this 2017 Columella, thanks Eric. To give you an idea how good I mean (this wine is), the Columella reminds me of or compares to Beaucastel’s Reserve Homage Jacques Perrin or a Château (Rayas) Fonsalette, it is monumental red Rhône blend. I once said it also has cult peers in the new world, for those who love Cayuse, Saxum or Sine Qua Non. Eben Sadie is coy about the exact blend and percentage, but it is mostly Syrah with a good dose of Mourvèdre and Grenache, plus Carignan, Cinsault and Tina Barroca, the lesser known Port grape that has found a home here in South Africa. Sadie reveals that the vineyards are as follows in Paardeberg (2 vineyards), Kasteelberg (4 vineyards), Malmesbury (1 vineyard) and Piquetberg (1 vineyard) all with their own micro-climates and elevations, which all give extra dimension to this amazing wine. This wine has helped redefine my opinion of top end South African wines, along with Baadenhorst, Hamilton-Russell and old school Kannonkop, a while certainly this wine is expensive, it proves it’s worth in detail, finesse and style every time I taste it. While the Columella is a wine enthusiast and serious collectors wine, Sadie does a few bottlings that don’t pain the wallet as much, these that I recommend are, the 100% Cinsault Pofadder, the 100% Tinta Barocca Treinspoor, the 100% Chenin Blanc (called Steen locally) Skerpioen, the Palladius white blend, which sees a combination of Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanche, Viognier, Verdelho, Roussanne, Marsanne, Semillon Gris, Semillon Blanc, Palomino and Colombard, making it the white version of the Columella and the 100% Grenache Noir Soldaat.
($185 Est.) 97 Points, grapelive