“You’re in the milking shed,” I was told on arriving at Badenhorst Family Wines. “Drop your things … we’re opening wines now!” Yikes, but no cause for alarm. Cornelia Badenhorst used to write for the South African design magazine VISI and the accommodation is rustic-chic—un-showy, while showing attention to detail. The same might be said of Adi Badenhorst’s wines, although he would like you to believe they’re tossed together by accident. Making wine “naturally” requires careful management.
My flying visit to Swartland’s Paardeberg took in AA Badenhorst and neighboring Sadie Family Wines. They couldn’t be more different. The latter recently completed a palatial winery, chisel sharp and gleaming, where guests are received under chandeliers and the edifice overlooks Eben Sadie’s showcase vineyard; staked single vines on a low-density grid, meticulously calculated to provide each vine space to survive in the arid climate where temperatures reach 40°C (104°F). No drip irrigation in sight. Somewhere to expound his theory on dry farming viticulture. The whole shebang a statement for Swartland and the man himself—for Sadie set out in 1999 with just $10,000, turned a profit in 2012 and became South African wine royalty. Attracted to Swartland, he explains, “by the diversity of terroir … slate, shale, and granite. From gravelly land more like Bordeaux near the ocean to a 850m [2,790ft] plateau of sandstone and quartz. We even found limestone on the coast in 2008.” He has planted 38 virus-free varieties, while safeguarding old vineyards.
Badenhorst & Sadie: Old vines in a hot, dry environment
Badenhorst and Sadie present differently but share a passion for old vines in this hot, dry environment. How do old vines survive? Badenhorst scoffs, “Of course we give them water. I don’t torture my vines!” A film on his phone shows water gushing over a vineyard from a tractor with a tank. Rudimentary. There’s nothing swanky at AA Badenhorst and his wines have an honesty which reflects this. Badenhorst comes from farming stock. He grew up in Constantia where his father was a farmer and his grandfather was general manager at Groot Constantia.“We bought here in 2008: 60ha [150 acres] when land was cheap. It’s a great place for old vines and parrots.” He sells to 24 producers and works with a staggering 73 varieties.
Both Badenhorst and Sadie produce attractive whites from vines on limestone near the coast. Light and linear, Badenhorst Sout Van die Aarde Palomino 2023 skates swiftly on the palate kicking sea salt spray in its wake. Sadie Skerpioen 2023 is richer: 50/50 Palomino and Chenin, it is lightly reductive, tangy, and savory with wet-stone character providing freshness. Palomino was originally planted on limestone soils to make Sherry-like fortified wines. Badenhorst makes “Fino” with Saldanha Wine and Spirit Co. It’s lightly silky and salty—maybe more like Manzanilla.
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Both estates produce red and white blends as well as small volumes from individual parcels. Badenhorst Kalmoesfontein might include ten varieties. “About one third Chenin (planted in the ‘60s) and some other stuff.” Badenhorst’s wingman winemaker Jorrie Du Plessis says, “The trick here is to harvest on the same day, from under-ripe to shrivel; cool it down and press it together.” It’s fermented on plenty of solids in 1,000-liter foudres and concrete, racked in December, and returned to concrete for bottling in June. This is a more-ish wine. Gently savory with a herbal thread, the 2023 shows youthful restraint, while the 2022 is more expressive with notes of Parmesan. The acidity may be lowish, but there’s tension, brightness, and light grip to these wines.
I also liked the waxy textured Grensloos Chenin Blanc, while the dark chocolate-like Kalmoesfontein Red Blend 2022 is suave after 45 days post-ferment maceration. Rich at 14% ABV while most Badenhorst wines at 12-13% ABV slip down a treat for a lightweight like me.
The Raaigras Grenache 2023, from granite soil, is gregariously fruity, soft, gently chunky, and juicy. Slurp-ably good. “I de-stem 70-80% and leave it without doing anything. No pump-overs. It takes 3-4 weeks to go dry,” says Badenhorst..
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His wines are just terribly drinkable.
Glamorous and chilly
Sadie Winery is altogether more glamorous and chilly, maintained at 18 degrees as the tanks are not temperature-controlled. Sadie uses one-third whole-bunch for reds and buckets the fermenting wine over the cap once a day then presses in a basket press. “With high pHs here, wines don’t go well in small or new oak,” Sadie says.
Soldaart 2023, from 50-year-old vines at 500m (165ft) on Table Mountain sandstone, is enveloped in strawberry fragrance with light, crunchy tannins providing freshness.
Clearly the extraction is gentle for Tinta Barocca grown in gravel near the sea, for Treinspoor 2023 has a surprisingly supple texture together with coriander aromatics, spicy blue fruit, and light bitterness.
The blend for Columella has expanded from Syrah and Mourvèdre in 2004 (meaty, concentrated, yet fresh) to include Grenache, Cinsault, Carignan, and Tinta Barocca for more acidity and texture. The dense, focused, and neatly honed Columella 2022 has lithe muscle and a cool graphite finish and should age well.
’T Voetpad comes from the oldest co-planted (in 1887) vineyard in South Africa, and the 2023 is a sapid, dense wine. Beeswax, honey, and crystallized lemon, this white blend has tannic edge and layering.
In 2021 Sadie bought Rotsbank—1.4ha (3.5 acres) of old Chenin Blanc planted on a granite shelf. “Finally I could make the wine I wanted,” Sadie says—a Swartland Chenin. The 2022 Rotsbank has a smoky-flinty aroma and punches on the palate, dynamic, vibrantly fresh, compact, and then stony to finish. Another ageworthy white wine with purpose.
At Badenhorst it was pizza night. Feeling revived with a cup of tea and a buttermilk rusk, I descended from the restful, creamy-coloured melk kamer to find communal tables ready for the party. The pizza oven was hot and people were trickling through the house, among them some local, young, hipster winemakers who passed their wines around. One or two of them fulfilled my worst expectations of natural wine. But most were good, including those from Sakkie Mouton. The Revenge of the Crayfish uses Chenin grown 9 miles (15km) from the ocean, where temperatures of 8°C (46°F) at night keep things fresh and the silty soils give the wine a shiny mineral feel. “Dude it’s like desert sand,” says Mouton. Another Mouton wine, Dawn of the Salty Tongues 2023 (“I don’t actually know the cultivar,” says Mouton) is a pleasingly juicy, fruity red with supple tannins. Nothing rude here.
Swartland is challenging terrain. A beautiful, yet austere environment, but in the hands of the many talented winemakers here, the wise old vines and carefully nurtured youngsters express their terroir with eloquence.
