Sadie Family Treinspoor 2014
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Old Vine Series Treinspoor is 100% Tinta Barocca planted in 1974, a grape that Eben Sadie rates very highly. There is something placid about the nose, which is refined and reclining in a comfy chair at the moment. The fruit is slightly darker than the 2014 Pofadder, with a hint of vanilla and cola tincturing the dark berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp, grainy tannin and supremely well-judged acidity. It becomes more structured and masculine towards the finish, which offers great details, precision and superb mineralité. Eben compared it to a cross between Nebbiolo and a Syrah, and I can see where he is coming from. One of those wines that shifts your preconception about a grape variety.
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Wine Spectator
This delivers bouncy, slightly chunky blackberry, raspberry and damson plum coulis flavors, laced with a balsam-tinged spine. A lingering black tea note drapes over the finish. Tinta Barocca.
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The Sadie's two wines, Columella and Palladius, originate in the soils in the Swartland region, which stretches north of Cape Town between Durbanville and Piketberg, inland from the Atlantic Ocean, and centered on the town of Malmesbury. Importantly, the area has a remarkably stable climate, allowing a consistent level of quality each year, in subtly different vintage conditions.
Beyond the usual suspects, there are hundreds of red grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines, while others are better suited for use as blending grapes. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles, offering much to be discovered by the curious wine lover. In particular, Portugal and Italy are known for having a multitude of unique varieties but they can really be found in any region.
With an important wine renaissance in full swing, impressive red and white bargains abound in South Africa. The country has a particularly long and rich history with winemaking, especially considering its status as part of the “New World.” In the mid-17th century, the lusciously sweet dessert wines of Constantia were highly prized by the European aristocracy. Since then, the South African wine industry has experienced some setbacks due to the phylloxera infestation of the late 1800s and political difficulties throughout the following century.
Today, however, South Africa is increasingly responsible for high-demand, high-quality wines—a blessing to put the country back on the international wine map. Wine production is mainly situated around Cape Town, where the climate is generally warm to hot. But the Benguela Current from Antarctica provides brisk ocean breezes necessary for steady ripening of grapes. Similarly, cooler, high-elevation vineyard sites throughout South Africa offer similar, favorable growing conditions.
South Africa’s wine zones are divided into region, then smaller districts and finally wards, but the country’s wine styles are differentiated more by grape variety than by region. Pinotage, a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, is the country’s “signature” grape, responsible for red-fruit-driven, spicy, earthy reds. When Pinotage is blended with other red varieties, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah or Pinot Noir (all commonly vinified alone as well), it is often labeled as a “Cape Blend.” Chenin Blanc (locally known as “Steen”) dominates white wine production, with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc following close behind.