2024 Sadie Family Swartland Rotsbank

Eben Sadie played the long game for this one. He spent 14 years waiting to get access to this specific Paardeberg site, maintaining he wouldn't bottle a Swartland Chenin unless it came from here. The vineyard sits on a shallow shelf of granite - a 'Rotsbank' - where the topsoil is so thin the vines really have to struggle.

The result is a Chenin Blanc that is totally distinct from the rest of the range. Eben calls it "blue steel" and that nails the vibe. It is linear, sharp and incredibly focused. You get notes of lemon rind and crushed rock, but it is the texture and tension that really define it. It isn't about rich fruit; it is about the granite it grows on.

Because it comes from such a low-yielding site, there isn't much of it around. If you are drinking it now, definitely give it a decant to let that tight structure relax a bit.

98 points
"I love the sharpness and minerality. This will age. The third edition of this wine. Chenin Blanc from a historic vineyard with rocky soils"
- James Suckling

97 points
"this is a pure, beautifully chiselled expression of the granite soils of the Paardeberg."
- Tim Atkin MW (South Africa Report 2025)