Winemaker Notes
#79 James Suckling Top 100 Wines of the World 2025
This 2023 Columella vintage displays strawberry aromas transitioning to dark cherry and floral perfumed aromatics. Over time, the trademark violets and perfumes will develop further; the wine is very compact.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Black cherries, fresh plums, sandalwood, peach pits, sage and cloves on the nose of this deliciously polished and complex red. It’s medium- to full-bodied, intense yet full of finesse and elegance, with firm and very fine-grained tannins. Long, continuous and delicious, with a beautiful interplay of fruit and spice. I love this wine. Syrah, mourvedre, grenache, carignan, cinsault, tinta barocca and pinotage.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Sadie Family 2023 Swartland Columella is fresh yet densely concentrated, offering layered dark fruit, savory spice and impressive volume across a beautifully fleshed-out mid-palate. Drawn from multiple Swartland sites across Paardeberg, Kasteelberg, Malmesbury and Piketberg, the wine blends Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan, Cinsault and Tinta Barroca aged over 24 months into a seamless regional expression. The complex mix of schist, granite, limestone, alluvial clay and sandstone underscores Columella’s identity as a true Swartland benchmark. Despite the challenges of cloudy weather, vintner Eben Sadie says 2023 is one of his most satisfying vintages.
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Vinous
The 2023 Columella is the usual blend of seven varieties. It has quite an intense bouquet, with a mixture of red and black fruit, cigar box, potpourri and a light sea influence. The palate is medium-bodied, with fine-grain tannins, gentle grip, beautifully balanced, with a long and tender finish. Just wonderful transparency to this Columella that will give many years of drinking pleasure. Snapping at the heels of the best Sadie has made.
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Wine Spectator
This red pops with garrigue and star anise, while cherry and dried red plum fruit flavors the background, confidently coasting across a ghost tone of cooling sand. Though this version is structured by a bitter herbal pull, there’s plenty of sweetness to the fruit beneath. Impressive. Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Cinsaut and Tinta Barocca.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
Literally meaning "the black land," Swartland takes its name from the endangered, indigenous "renosterbos" (translating to rhino bush), which used to be plentiful enough to turn the entire landscape a dark color certain during times of year. The district, attracting some of the most adventurous and least interventionist winemakers, excels in robust and full-bodied reds as well as quality fortified wines.