Backfill & Diversify Vol. 6

It’s the turn of South Africa to grace the pages of our Backfill and Diversify offerings and this is something of a landmark moment, as the wines of this beautiful country have, to date, only appeared on Bowes Wine offers of ready-to-drink wines. I just hadn’t found any especially exciting examples that I thought would benefit from cellarage.

Roaring into my field of consciousness and playing deftly with my taste buds has come a wine from the Sadie Family: the 2006 Columella, made by Eben Sadie.

Eben did the European tour, studying approaches to terroir and how to maximise its influence. The answer? Do as little as possible in the winery, as much as possible in the vineyard. 

Columella is now regarded as being one of the top handful of red wines of the Cape, by many the best of all.

N.B. Columella is a blend of Shiraz and Mourvèdre.

Vintage	Wine	Drink dates	Case size	Price In Bond
2006	Columella, The Sadie Family, Swartland, South Africa Notes: When first opened - An almost opaque ruby purple colour. The nose is controlled and immediately more Old World seeming than New. I found brooding bramble and damson fruit, plus hints of spice, dried fruits, tar, cocoa powder, sweet leather and nut paste. Above at all, there's a piercing high purple note; the voice of a castrato berry. The palate backs up the sense that this is a more European style of wine. Crunchy damson fruit loaded with minerals and grip. There are some fine tannins and really good intensity.   After 20 hours - This has not really opened out that much, which augurs well for its intended time in the cellar. There are peppery notes and black cherry fruit, which is nicely ripe. There's a very slight cake-like aspect to the fruit; sweet herbs and biscuit tins. The dark chocolate aroma is perhaps the wood. Silken fruit of black cherry and plum on entry, followed quickly by the very fine, paste-like tannin. There's a wealth of minerals and juicy acidity to be found. This is a fresh wine, with fine grip at the end. Very long, with a delicious, tangy aftertaste. This is an elegant wine and a harmonious one.	2010-2016	6x75cl	£186.00
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"Dark and alluring, with currant paste, fig sauce and dark plum notes that glide over rich but fine-grained tannins. Hints of mesquite, melted licorice and bittersweet ganache fill out the finish. Has plenty of length and concentration. This should fill out with moderate cellaring. Syrah and Mourvèdre. 94/100." The Wine Spectator