James Suckling (97/100)
Sliced strawberries, pomegranates, rose hips, orange rind and wet stones on the nose of this supremely elegant, fragrant red. Sour cherries, too. It’s medium-bodied, very fresh and silky, with very fine tannins, seamless but present. Persistent and salty at the end. Great expression of grenache. Fermented and aged in concrete.
Tim Atkin (96/100)
Citrusdal Mountain (13.5%) - Erasmus van Zyl's farm in Piekenierskloof, located on quartz and sandstone soils, supplies the grapes for this ethereal old-vine Grenache, described by Eben Sadie as "transparent". Fermented with 30% whole clusters, it has aromas of fresh earth and Campari spices, flavours of pomegranate and red cherry, remarkable freshness and some underlying tannic grip.
R. Parker (94/100)
This is the first wine poured in The Sadie Family portfolio tasting. The 2024 Citrusdal Mountain Die Distriksreeks Soldaat shows an earthy yet perfumed expression of Grenache with sour cherry, pomegranate and blue floral lift carried by sweet but firm tannins. Nervy and finely structured, the wine balances high-radiation ripeness with remarkable freshness from its site at 750 meters in elevation. Planted on quartz sandstone and mudstone in the Citrusdal Mountains, Soldaat demonstrates vintner Eben Sadie’s pursuit of Grenache grown in sites that deliver light without excessive heat. This was a complex vintage with not a lot of rain but less wind, which was positive. Aging sees 12 months in concrete tank only.
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.