A trip to the Swartland this week to taste the wines of David and Nadia Sadie at their (soon to be opened) new venue in Malmesbury called Bill and Co. which will become a market when the building works are finished
David Sadie, who was born and bred in the Swartland, studied winemaking and viticulture at Stellenbosch University where he met his wife Nadia, who qualified as a soil scientist and viticulturist. So they are a well-matched pair in wine and are both very talented. Their iconic Swartland wines consistently get 4.5 stars and more in Platter; they have won several wine awards and they get lots of worthy attention
All the grapes come from the area but, with the current drought, David told us that he has to source from as many as 12 different vineyards, where they work closely with the local like-minded wine farmers. The welcome wine was their 2016 Siebritzkloof Semillon from two old Paardeberg single vineyards, one planted in 1960, the other in 1972. And their maturity shows in the wine which has that Swartland oxidative character, with apples on the nose and apples and plums on the palate, with good fruit acids supporting
The building is still very rough and ready; it has a roof on but no flooring or windows yet. All the cottages have been broken through and joined and the rooms combined into larger spaces. We were told that these are old slave cottages. Lunch was being prepared at one end of the room by local people who will be involved in the market, like Marble Bistro
The function room had to be tented for the day
David and Nadia Sadie. This was a very informative and interesting tasting; many of the wines have just been released. We learned even more about wine making, and its results in places that have been so challenged by the drought; the difficulty of sourcing good grapes. We really enjoyed tasting these wines. Go on line to see their web site and to order the wines www.davidnadia.com
Our friend Deon Oliver, local wine lover, who has recently moved to Malmesbury
Looks like we'll be having tacos for lunch
The formal tasting began and David took us through the wines. First came the 2017 Chenin with its typical Chenin dusty and yeasty nose, with apricots and pears. Richness, fullness, long deep Chenin signature fruit with apples, limes and plums. Impressive. Next, we tasted the 2017 Aristargos, a blend of 50% Chenin Blanc, 20% Viognier, 20% Roussanne, 10% Semillon, 8% Clairette Blanc. This was from the 8th vintage; shy nose at first, yeasty herbal fynbos notes; dusty with loquat flavours, Crisp, lots of complex fruit nuances like persimmon, lime, loquat, with slightly bitter wood on the end. From 14 different vineyards, mostly Paardeberg. The Semillon has had skin contact for a week. Then, 2017 Hoë-Steen Chenin Blanc with vanilla, herbal fynbos, dust and juicy red plums on the nose. Crisp, with sharp fruit acids; long, with big flavours and more of those red plums. The wine is layered with some wood showing on the end. A food wine that entices the more you drink. Old French oak with 100% malolactic fermentation
Our tasting sheet. The 2017 Skalikop Chenin Blanc is grown on the high Paardeberg mountains. Golden fruit on the nose, wood smoke, vanilla and balsam followed by perfume. Crisp grapey flavours then wood and fruit acids. It is dusty with sweet spice. Needs time.
And besides the normal tasting glass, we were given a chance to see how the wine changed in this special Zalto glass. It has the thinnest stem and we were all wary of snapping it. Yes the wine does smell and taste very different in these glasses. http://www.zalto.co.uk/ So here is how it changed this Chenin. Parisian perfume, ice cream vanillins, round and silky smooth, acids are still there with limes, loquats, unripe peach
Nadia carefully pouring the tasting wines. The 2017 Grenache (they are growing lots as no older grenaches are available. David said they have to fight for them, so they are working with younger vineyards). Pale red, even less colour than a Pinot. Cherry, strawberry KoolAid with balsam and crème brulée caramel on the nose; red berries, light fruit, heady acids, warmth, chewy tannins and a finish of red cherry
Next the 2016 Elpidios. Grapes come from 7 different Swartland vineyards and it contains Carignan, Syrah, Pinotage, Cinsault and Grenache. Raspberries, tayberries, mulberries with a whiff of wood. The fruit predominates; good acids and chalky tannins. We predict that this will become more complex with age
The last wine was the Siebritskloof Pinotage, rich on the nose with rose petals (Pinot Noir parentage showing?) and Turkish delight notes, so unusual for a Pinotage. Nice red fruit, almost Cinsault like, so showing both the grape's parents. Enjoyable wine, chalky tannins, mulberry and rhubarb and no metallic hints at all. Lynne enjoyed this Pinotage
The last wine was the Siebritskloof Pinotage, rich on the nose with rose petals (Pinot Noir parentage showing?) and Turkish delight notes, so unusual for a Pinotage. Nice red fruit, almost Cinsault like, so showing both the grape's parents. Enjoyable wine, chalky tannins, mulberry and rhubarb and no metallic hints at all. Lynne enjoyed this Pinotage
Time for lunch. The aroma of these mixed mushroom skewers had invaded the tasting glasses a bit on the last couple of wines, but they were very good
Enjoy mushrooms more with a squeeze of fresh lemon! You learn something new every day
Filling the tacos. First with coleslaw and then with pulled pork. On the table are two relishes, a yogurt cooler and a hot barbecue sauce for us to add
Those mushroom skewers, raw
... and seasoned and cooked
Pulled pork tacos. You had to add the barbecue sauce to make this into a delicious treat
Good food to end off a very good and interesting wine tasting
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
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