James Suckling (96/100)
This spicy, brooding yet pure wine has aromas of licorice, violets, blackberries, cranberries, graphite and hints of fennel. It’s medium- to full-bodied, firm and focused, with fantastic spicy undertones. Lots of structure. Tight and firm finish. Tinta barroca from 50-year-old vines.
R. Parker (95/100)
The Sadie Family 2024 Swartland Die Distriksreeks Treinspoor delivers compact, crunchy tannins and dark, firm fruit within a structured, age-worthy frame. The wine highlights Tinta Barroca’s historic Swartland roots, showing both power and precision without heaviness. Sourced from vines planted in 1974 on alluvial soils with sandstone, granite and quartz components near Malmesbury, Treinspoor continues to champion this once-overlooked Portuguese variety in the Cape.
Eben Sadie has repositioned The Sadie Family’s former “Old Vine Series” under the new "Die Distriksreeks" (The District Series), shifting the focus from vine age to a clearer expression of place and viticulture. While the historic old vineyards remain central, Eben Sadie has increasingly emphasized farming precision and site identity over cellar technique. The evolving range—now including two new bottlings, the Twiswind white and Sonvang red—reflects his long-term ambition to formulate an "African" wine aesthetic.
Tim Atkin (95/100)
"One of the greatest Mediterranean grapes," says Eben Sadie of Tinta Barroca, although he concedes that it needs time in bottle as well as the glass. A red for fans of Italian wines - it reminds me of Sagrantino - Treinspoor is dense, chewy and a little scary, with violet, thyme, tar and liquorice aromas and flavours of damson and plum skin complemented by chewy tannins.