2018 - Columella, The Sadie Family, Swartland

The 2018 Columella came from my own cellar, opened at home following the vertical in Hong Kong. This has a wonderful bouquet with ebullient blackberry and bilberry, just as I found after bottling. There is that underlying floral aspect that has manifested in recent vintages, very delineated and focused, the whole bunch deftly utilised. The palate is built around fluid tannins, the acidity perfectly matched, satin-like in texture that belies quite a powerful and intense finish, with hints of blueberry and cedar that linger on the finish. Outstanding, but still too young to broach! Tasted at the Columella vertical in Hong Kong.

Deep ruby at the core with a pale ruby edge, the 2018 Columella explodes from the glass with high-toned, dark red fruit aromas of black raspberry, dusty plum and dark cherry skin in the glass, with an alluring essence of dust-blown red flowers and a kiss of baking spices layered through the nose. Medium-bodied and bursting with flavor, the 13.5% alcohol wine shows impeccable balance, succulent acidity and lifting tannins, making way for a delightful mineral tension sensation across the mid-palate. The wine somersaults in the mouth, revealing new layers of black olive and dusty black cherry skin before concluding with a long, evolving finish marked by a dusty, red-berried essence that begs me back for more. This is a wine where, once you have a sip, you can’t help being seduced by its intoxicating aromas that will leave your head spinning. Another stunningly brilliant vintage of Columella. Bravo!

See exceptionally detailed technical notes from the Sadie Family website on this blend of Syrah, Mourve`dre, Grenache, Carignan, Cinsaut and Tinta Barocca. The Syrah portion is being decreased. Still quite a deep crimson. Heady and rich. Dry finish but very complete. Very pure. So complex! A real long-distance runner that is really distinctive. There is nothing else quite like this wine in the whole wine world. (JR)