David & Nadia Chenin Blanc 2020
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James
Suckling -
Wine &
Spirits
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Their main Chenin blanc from the Swartland focuses yet again on various Old Vine Vineyards, ranging plantings from 1962 till 1982 and based on granite from the Paardeberg, blended with schale/schist from the east, clay from the north and iron from the western parts of the Swartland. Dry-land farmed bush vines stood the test of time and it showcases the ultimate reason why Chenin Blanc is their main focus in the Swartland. Whole bunch pressed and naturally fermented, matured for 11 months in old neutral French oak barrels.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Complex nose of grilled pineapple, preserved lemon, green fig, beeswax and sea urchin. It’s medium-bodied with bright acidity. Layered and textured with flinty, waxy and zesty undertones. Long. Drink or hold.
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Wine & Spirits
David and Nadia Sadie blend this wine from eight vineyards in the Swartland, fermenting and aging 18 percent of the juice in concrete, the rest in neutral French oak barrels. Faint spice adds some interest to the bright, bruised-apple core. The wine seems sure of itself, its well-built structure slipping by without notice, really allowing the lasting flavors to take the spotlight.
Other Vintages
2021-
Robert
Parker -
James
Suckling
- Decanter
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Robert
Parker
David and Nadia Sadie met at the University of Stellenbosch when he shifted his focus to viticulture after a rugby injury sidelined him from his first love. David went on to work vintages around the world, from Marlborough to St. Emilion, before finally landing back in South Africa. He eventually took over the cellar in the Swartland where Andrea and Chris Mullineux used to make wine prior to their purchase of Roundstone Farm and restored it in 2014. His wife Nadia joined him in 2016 and it’s been a family affair ever since. Nadia oversees viticulture for their project and manages the vineyards that they lease. She employs biological farming, which is to say she avoids the use of any herbicides, plants cover crops and she’s begun experimenting with a conversion to organics. Together, they make high acid, textured wines that have helped them cement their status as some of the mostly highly regarded winemakers in the Swartland.
Unquestionably one of the most diverse grape varieties, Chenin Blanc can do it all. It shines in every style from bone dry to unctuously sweet, oaked or unoaked, still or sparkling and even as the base for fortified wines and spirits. Perhaps Chenin Blanc’s greatest asset is its ever-present acidity, maintained even under warm growing conditions. Somm Secret—Landing in South Africa in the mid 1800s, today the country has double the acreage of Chenin Blanc planted compared to France. There is also a new wave of dedicated producers committed to restoring old Chenin vines.
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.