James Suckling (96/100)
Lovely aromatics to this white, showing mangosteen, lemon, sliced pears, wet stones and sea breeze on the nose. It’s very racy, saline, and mineral, with a medium body and fantastic energy. So much complexity and salty brightness. A blend of 12 varieties, co-planted in 2019. The first bottling of this wine from a windy site.
R. Parker (95/100)
Another exciting maiden vintage, The Sadie Family 2024 Swartland Die Distriksreeks Twiswind is broad yet tightly wound, offering stone fruit richness balanced by beaming acidity and fine white-wine tannin grip. This complex field blend—with Vermentino, Picpoul, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc, Cinsault Blanc, Palomino, Chenin Blanc, Grillo, Assyrtiko, Verdelho, Clairette Blanche and Semillon—creates both weight and tension in equal measure. Grown on a wind-exposed 1.14-hectare Swartland site, the vineyard’s constant airflow naturally limits vigor and preserves freshness.
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)
Twiswind - "to argue with the wind" in Afrikaans - is the maiden release of a brilliant field
blend from a 1.4-hectare site planted as recently as 2019. Featuring a medley of Chenin Banc,
Cinsault Blanc, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Grillo, Marsanne, Palomino, Picpoul, Semillon
and Vermentino, it's like a who's who of the Mediterranean, with lime, greengage, grapefruit,
quinine and juniper flavours, thrilling acidity and a mineral core.