The Sadie Family, Soldaat, Swartland

not blind, at the winery A 100% Grenache, not that heavy and alcoholic as you often get from this variety. 92

My contribution to the quarterly book club dinner where we discussed Empire of the Summer Moon. Wonderful wine. Amazing book. 94+

Luckily this was more open than my previous bottle, and in a good spot right now. Red fruits, some (but not much) fine grippy tannins, earth, sage and thyme, really lovely both on the nose and palate. Serious wine! 92-93.

Lavender, strawberry, pomegranate, savory, crushed rocks, pepper, tomato. @Wine Living Signature

Very pure wine, but at this point a bit closed. This needs a lot of air, but ideally a few more years in the cellar. Silky red fruit, some spice, elegant, some lactic notes, cherry. Will let my other bottle rest.

Got recommended this instead of a Barolo, was a bit iffy about it, but it delivered. Medium ruby in the glass with a bit of haze. If I was blinded, I'd definitely be guessing Victorian Pinot as it has this reductive-curry leaf combo on the nose that I always get on these Pinots. No sweetness of Grenache at all. Tightly knit on the palate, very elegant and fresh. Flavors open up more as the wine warms up. Young, but solid …

Decanted for an hour. Good structure with a lively cherry flavour. Drinking well but can ages for a long time.

Still very primary, fresh cherries and raspberries, good acidity and very clean.

Cape Cru South Africa Tasting (Zuiderkerk, Amsterdam) : Red fruit, silty, grenadine. Beautiful wine

1807 E: sweet red fruits, red cherries, raspberries, red plum. Med to med+. More savouriness on the palate, med tannins, high alcohol, again sweet red fruits. At least some carbonic I think. Just hints of banana and bubble gum. Not unpleasant but rather adds complexity. Med finish. Well balanced, quite nice. Med acidity.

The third in our “Judgement of…” series of Grenache blind tastings. This year we followed the official lineup with a super rare vertical with 6 vintages of Soldaat: ‘12 & ‘16-‘20. Tasters included Greg S and Richie G. On the day I ranked the 2020 WOTN 🥉in the Soldaat vertical, behind both the 2018 and 2019. However, it seems to be roughly at the same quality level, and I expect it could very well be as good in another year …