2022 - Columella, The Sadie Family, Swartland

One of South Africa's most critically acclaimed wines, this is a very complicated blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignan, Cinsault, Tinta Barocca and Pinotage. Syrah leads at 38% of the total. The Sadie Family's 2022 Swartland Columella boasts unique DNA that cannot be replicated given that fruit is sourced from across 12 vineyard sites with a mix of granite, slate, gravel and sandstone. These sites are Paardeberg (with seven vineyards), Kasteelberg (with three vineyards), Malmesbury (with one vineyard) and Piquetberg (also one vineyard). Blending is never done in the winery. Instead, parcels are picked in sequence and co-fermented. The same blocks are always used. It matures over 24 months to show enormous balance and length. Columella is texturally rich and caressing with grippy tannins that need more time to fully resolve. The 2022 vintage is terrific, Eben Sadie tells me during our tasting in his newly finished winery, whereas 2024 was challenging. The bouquet on the 2022 is chiseled and etched with a note of pencil shaving or white pepper that cedes to dark fruit, spice and heritage rose.

The 2022 Columella has the lowest alcohol level ever bottled for this cuvée, at 13.2%. It is a blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Cinsault and Tinta Barocca. This takes time to open on the nose and is quite introspective at first, gently unfurling scents of potpourri, undergrowth and brambly red berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins. There’s a real a sense of symmetry and focus here—a much "cooler" Columella than older vintages, with a sapid finish that urges you back for another sip. Eben Sadie said he would finish the rest of the bottle the night after my tasting…I can see why.