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Tasting notes
The Sadie Family 2023 Citrusdal Mountain Old Vine Series Soldaat comes from the remote Piekenierskloof area, which again sees weathered Table Mountain sandstone formations. Winemaking starts in concrete tanks that are partially filled with whole clusters (about 30%) and topped off with destemmed fruit in order to get some juice in the vats and to activate the yeasts. Fermentation lasts about 30 days on the skins, and an old basket press is used. The wine only sees concrete for 12 months. This graceful Grenache is beautifully nuanced with wild berry aromas, blue flower and a chiseled point of rusty nail or iron ore that adds high-toned elegance, bordering on fragility.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
Beautifully bright red-cherry, strawberry, licorice, redbush-tea and burnt-orange aromas give this so much joy. It’s medium-bodied, lithe and fresh, with red fruit in the forefront and just a touch of earthy spice. Very fine, seamless tannins. Grenache, with about 60% whole-cluster fermentation. Delightful already, but will keep improving. Try from 2025.
The 2023 Soldaat is Grenache planted on quartz sandstone. It has a well-defined, open-knit bouquet of Morello cherry and strawberry, moderate in terms of complexity. To put it in banal terms, it might be the "prettiest" of Sadie's reds this year. The palate is all pomegranate and red cherries. Fresh and vibrant with only light tannins, this is not powerful, but it’s very expressive, possessing a lilting quality that is just irresistible. Lovely.
About the producer
Since he started making wine under his own name in 2000, Eben Sadie became a cult name in South Africa. The Swartland producer is best known for his flagship Columella and Palladius, but he also makes a range of whites and reds under the Old Vine Series, which became the District Series in 2025.