Palladius and Columella verticals: Eben Sadie’s Swartland flagships

The rapid rise of South Africa’s Swartland wine region over the past 20 years has been thrilling to watch. And arguably the most influential winemaker during this renaissance has – and continues to be – Eben Sadie.

Sadie was in London recently for a vertical tasting of his flagship wines, the red blend Columella and white blend Palladius. He explained to a rapt audience of critics, buyers and sommeliers how his approach to winemaking has changed over the years, and revealed how he’s preparing for an uncertain future.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for The Sadie Family Wines’ verticals of Palladius and Columella

Sadie made his name as head winemaker at Spice Route in Swartland, which he joined in 1998. In fact, his first two vintages of Columella, 2000 and 2001, were made there before he left to go it alone.

In 2009, he embarked on his Old Vines Series, a collection of eight single-vineyard wines made from some of the Cape’s oldest vineyards.

While these exceptional wines reflect a specific vineyard and its grape variety (or varieties), Sadie sees Columella and Palladius as representations of Swartland’s DNA. They are both blends of multiple vineyards, soil types and grape varieties.

The red blend: Columella

The first vintage of Columella was pure Syrah, but Sadie soon started blending in Mourvèdre, then Grenache. Now it also includes Carignan, Cinsault and Tinta Barocca.

And fruit is now sourced from 10 sites across Swartland, grown on gravel, slate, granite and sandstone.

For the first decade, the winemaking remained constant. ‘If you make changes all the time, you can’t read the effect,’ explains Sadie. ‘So I have a policy to only change the winemaking every 10 years.’

After the 2009 vintage he made several adjustments. He picked earlier to keep alcohol levels down; instead of destemming, he fermented 70% as whole bunches; he stopped punching down; he reduced the amount of new oak from 50% to 5%; and for the wine’s second year of ageing, he transferred it from barriques to large old foudres.

The sum of these changes is a finer, more precise style of wine. ‘In the first decade I made Columella how you make coffee,’ says Sadie. ‘The second decade how you make tea.’

After a further 10 vintages he made more adjustments: a reduction in whole bunch, and less reliance on Syrah. And, crucially, Sadie handed over the winemaking to his right-hand man Paul Jordaan. ‘He’s earned the right,’ says Sadie, who wanted to spend more time in the vineyards.

A big difference we’re set to see in future, for Palladius too, is the introduction of new drought-tolerant varieties.

‘Like a brother in jail, you love them but you can’t talk about them,’ Sadie jokes, since so many either obscure or hard to pronounce. Reds such as Agiorgitiko, Trincadera, Counoise and Alicante Bouschet; while whites include Catarratto, Grillo, Assyrtiko and Piquepoul – ‘and I can’t believe the performance of Vermentino!’

The white blend: Palladius

While the evolution of Columella has been more linear, the change in style with Palladius has been dramatic. ‘Columella was always perfect from the start,’ reveals Sadie. ‘Palladius was a battle.’

This was clear from the tasting; the 2007 and 2010 were notably different from the 2016 and 2019, the more recent vintages being fresher, keener, more linear and intense.

Today, Palladius is drawn from 17 vineyards across Swartland, using all 11 permitted varieties. Over the years, Sadie realised that it was ‘way too warm’ for Northern Rhône grapes Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier, which produced flabby wines, so he reduced their proportion and now picks them earlier.

He increased the Southern Rhône varieties Clairette and Grenache Blanc instead – and Colombard, which ripens at low alcohol levels. Others like Palomino have helped him bring alcohol levels down further, from 15% in early vintages to 13.2% today.

Another major change was to stop using oak. In 2014, Sadie only used concrete eggs and clay amphorae to mature the wine. It’s less opulent as a result, and has more of a sense of place. ‘The wine was always there,’ he says, ‘I just struggled to find it.’

‘It’s very difficult to make a high-end white wine and get people to accept it – and pay for it,’ notes Sadie.

I ask Catriona Felstead MW, senior buyer at UK importer Berry Bros & Rudd, how these wines sell today. ‘Demand is off the scale,’ she reveals. ‘We sell out on the morning of release.’ Sadie’s determination has paid off.

It has taken longer for Sadie to be satisfied with Palladius than Columella, but there’s no doubt both are now equally brilliant. That says a lot about the realised potential of Swartland. And the pioneering brilliance of Eben Sadie.

Palladius and Columella: verticals of Eben Sadie’s flagship wines

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