South Africa

A land of immense natural beauty and vinous variety, South Africa is a wine lover's dream. The picturesque panoramas of the Cape Winelands, many set against striking backdrops of rugged mountainous terrain and pristine ocean vistas, boast verdant hills graced with lush vineyard patchworks and abundant indigenous vegetation unique to this special biome. It is one of the most breathtaking wine-producing areas in the world, with the quality to match.

Home to around 238,000 acres of vineyards, mostly planted at the southern tip of the country in the Western Cape region, South Africa's “Winelands” are currently composed of 30 diverse districts and 98 smaller wards. Additionally, the varieties planted throughout these areas are numerous, though prominent, successful cultivars (grape varieties) can be identified for each appellation.

  • Sadie Family Wines - Eben Sadie

    Eben Sadie started his own family winery in 1999 with the release of his first wine - Columella, named after one of the wine trade’s earliest ‘wine writers’ going back to ancient Roman times. Columella is a Syrah-based red blend, and is often regarded as one of South Africa’s very best wines, if not THE best.

    Likewise his white - Palladius - is as greatly regarded. It is old bush-vine Chenin Blanc-based with about 11 different grape varieties in its blend.

    These wines are highly sought-after around the world, with allocations strictly controlled by the estate.

    We are the exclusive importers of Eben Sadie’s wine in Ireland, and the quantities we receive are minuscule.

    Eben Sadie is considered one of the great preservationists and visionaries in the new generation of South African winemakers. The wine writer Neal Martin recently called Sadie an “outspoken, peripatetic, terroir-obsessed winemaker who has been instrumental in putting Swartland on the map. He produces a small portfolio of comparatively expensive, but highly coveted wines based on Rhone varieties sourced from his seemingly never-ending search for pockets of old bush vines and unique terroirs. These are cerebral wines built to age.”

    ICON PRODUCER

    HIGHLY SUSTAINABLE

    HIGHLY ALLOCATED