Sadie Family : Soldaat Grenache 2024

Characteristics and tasting notes for the Sadie Family Soldaat Grenache 2024

Tasting notes

Colour
With a brilliant ruby red hue, this wine reveals slightly darker highlights than in previous vintages, reflecting the fine concentration of the berries.

Nose
The aromatic bouquet opens with scents of fresh red strawberry, pomegranate, rosehip and orange peel. The whole is underscored by a minerality reminiscent of wet stone, alongside delicate earthy nuances.

Palate
Despite a fine concentration, the palate stands out for its remarkable freshness. Medium-bodied, it unfolds vivid flavours of cherry and pomegranate, supported by silky, highly refined tannins. The natural acidity brings a lovely tension that stretches through to a persistent, saline finish.

Food and wine pairing
This Sadie Family Soldaat Grenache pairs wonderfully with herb-crusted dishes, particularly lamb, or with pasta in tomato sauce. It is equally well suited to a charcuterie and soft cheese board, grilled vegetables such as ratatouille, and light seafood preparations.

Service and storage
With a fine tannic structure, this vintage offers real cellaring potential, allowing it to evolve favourably in bottle and be enjoyed through to at least 2039.

Other characteristics
This wine has an alcohol content of 13.5%.

The pure, mineral expression of a wine from the Western Cape

The estate
Founded in 1999 by Eben Sadie with very modest initial means, the Sadie Family estate has established itself as a key reference point in South Africa's Western Cape region. Still led today by its founder, now joined by his sons Markus and Xander, the estate farms more than fifty parcels. A staunch advocate of old vines and low-intervention viticulture, the estate has played a major role in bringing global recognition to its terroir, notably earning the title of "World's Best Rising Star" at the Golden Vines Awards.

The vineyard
The grapes come from the Piekenierskloof area, located on the heights of the Citrusdal Mountain. Rising to nearly 708 metres in altitude, this terroir ranks among the highest in the country. The old vines, grown as bush vines without irrigation, root deeply into poor soils made up of decomposed Table Mountain sandstone. These unique geological and climatic conditions favour optimal drainage, limit vine vigour and help preserve a fine natural acidity.

The vintage
The year was marked by intense drought and very low rainfall. However, a dramatic drop in the usual winds helped reduce water stress on the vines and ensured even ripening. These distinctive climatic conditions led to low yields and a particularly short harvest window, concentrating the picking into just a few weeks, while still delivering berries of fine phenolic ripeness.

Winemaking and aging
To craft this wine, the bunches undergo rigorous sorting. Around 60% of the fruit is destemmed, with the remainder kept as whole bunches. Fermentation begins spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in concrete tanks, followed by around thirty days of skin maceration. After passing through a vertical press, the wine is aged exclusively in 33-hectolitre concrete tanks, with no contact with wood whatsoever. It rests on fine lees for eight months, then is racked for a further four months of refinement. Bottling takes place without fining or filtration.

Grape variety
This wine is made exclusively from Grenache (100%).