2022 Sadie Family "Palladius" White, Swartland, South Africa

ABOUT THIS WINE

Palladius is the Sadie Family’s flagship white and a defining wine of the Swartland. First released in 2002 as a counterpart to Columella, Palladius represents Eben Sadie’s vision of a Mediterranean-style white grounded in South African heritage. The 2022 vintage continues this legacy with remarkable clarity and finesse.

The wine is a co-fermented blend of 11 varieties—Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier, Semillon, Semillon Gris, Clairette Blanche, Palomino, Colombard, and Verdelho—sourced from 17 dry-farmed, old-vine parcels planted between 1900 and 1974 across diverse Swartland soils (granite, schist, clay, and chalk). All vineyards are farmed sustainably and without irrigation.

Grapes are harvested by hand over several weeks, gently pressed, and fermented with native yeasts in a mix of clay amphorae, concrete eggs, and old foudres. The wine is raised on its lees for 12 months in these vessels, then blended and aged a further 12 months in large-format oak before bottling unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulfur.

The 2022 vintage shows heightened precision, restraint, and aromatic lift compared to warmer years. Expect layers of pear skin, lanolin, white tea, lemon balm, and crushed seashells. The wine evolves continually in the glass and promises extraordinary aging potential—15 to 20 years with ease.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

The Sadie Family Wines, founded in 1999 by Eben Sadie, is widely considered the most influential estate in South Africa’s modern wine history. Based in the Swartland, Sadie has championed the rediscovery of old, dry-farmed vineyards and a low-intervention, terroir-focused philosophy that has reshaped the narrative of Cape wine.

All vineyards are farmed without irrigation, herbicides, or synthetic inputs, with deep respect for biodiversity and soil vitality. In the cellar, Eben uses only indigenous yeasts, minimal sulfur, and neutral aging vessels to preserve the integrity of site and vintage.

While the Old Vine Series highlights individual historic vineyards, Palladius is a broader statement—a reflection of Swartland’s potential to produce world-class white wines that defy varietal simplicity. It is an intricate blend, not for the sake of complexity, but to express the region’s old-vine heritage in full spectrum.

Elegant, intellectual, and deeply rooted in place, the 2022 Palladius stands among the Cape’s most profound white wines.