2022 Skurfberg

No trip to the Cape would be complete without visiting Eben Sadie in Swartland. Before we tasted his 2022s, Sadie gave me a tour of his impressive new winery under construction. One thing that he or his sons, who are taking an increasing active role in the running, will be short of in the future is space. “The 2022 was a difficult vintage on paper,” Sadie explains. “All the rain fell to the south of Swartland, and so we had a hangover of drought. We didn’t have a good winter. Just after flowering, after fruit set, we reduced our crop by half, taking it down one bunch per shoot, and we thinned the shoots right down to maintain a conservative canopy management. It’s one of the benefits of having a fixed team of 26 people. Also, we have had the lowest alcohol levels ever, bringing in the fruit below 13.5% potential alcohol. I’m fascinated by the 2022s because they are way better than I thought they would be. It’s a radical and expensive vintage for us because we bottled very little. It’s been a revelation. It will be interesting to see if we can have the same levels of alcohol in a wetter year. We’ll do some trials to see if it is possible.” This is a brilliant range of 2022s under his Old Vine Series umbrella that includes one new cuvée, a pure Chenin Blanc from Swartland named Rotsbank that Sadie told me he had waited 14 years to make. The 2022 Skurfberg might well constitute the vinous highlight of my trip, consistently ranking amongst his best wines. Maybe just the Kokerboom left me wanting more. The 2021 Columella, his blend of Rhône varieties now around two decades old is wonderful, less powerful than older vintages yet imbued with greater finesse and articulating its site with greater clarity.