Sadie Family Columella 2005
Vineyards
Swartland, Western Cape
Winemaking and Maturation
Hand sorting each berry for the entire production in small “strawberry” cases. Fermentation in 2000 litre open wooden fermenters. Fermentation is about three weeks at a temperature of 24 °C, followed by maceration after fermentation for another three weeks. Pressing occurs in an old basket press, and the wine is transferred directly to the barrel for malolactic fermentation.
Oaking: French oak barrels, Bordeaux Traditional selection. Tight grain. The wine ages for 18 months on the lees, followed by a rack and an additional six months of ageing on the fine lees. The total time spent is two years.
Tasting Notes
“This vintage was most surely the biggest challenge thus far in terms of keeping it all together. Extreme dry conditions that prevailed throughout the growing season made for some drastic measures to be taken in order to preserve the Columella vintage. We reduced the yield more dramatically and drastically than ever before and also picked all the vineyards as quick as possible to ensure that we could retain as much natural freshness and acidity as possible at the earliest point of phenolic maturity. And then, with the 40 ladies that usually help us with the intense berry-for-berry selection, we even brought in more extreme quality parameters, the result being that in this rather extreme vintage, we end up producing maybe one of our most exciting wines to date. This vintage is about absolute controlled power and freshness., almost a paradox for the dehydrated vintage. We managed to produce one of the best wines yet, if it is a function of the vintage or our better understanding of the 7 hectares for the Columella, I do not know, but I think the combination of time and a better understanding of our vineyards have resulted in this wine.” – Eben Sadie
Technical Details
Composition: Syrah (80%), Mourvedre (20%)
