Provenance

Private Client

Critics Ratings

'The 2014 Old Vine Series Treinspoor is 100% Tinta Barocca planted in 1974, a grape that Eben Sadie rates very highly. There is something placid about the nose, which is refined and reclining in a comfy chair at the moment. The fruit is slightly darker than the 2014 Pofadder, with a hint of vanilla and cola tincturing the dark berry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp, grainy tannin and supremely well-judged acidity. It becomes more structured and masculine towards the finish, which offers great details, precision and superb mineralité. Eben compared it to a cross between Nebbiolo and a Syrah, and I can see where he is coming from. One of those wines that shifts your preconception about a grape variety.' - Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, 95/100 (Nov 2015)

'Deeply coloured, as it always is, this is a brilliant interpretation of a grape that's normally used to make fortified wines. Dense, tannic and Italianate, it's like a cross between an Aglianico and a Nebbiolo, with high acidity, notes of Mediterranean herbs and rich damson and blackberry fruit. Needs time. Drink: 2016-24' - Tim Atkin MW, SA Special Report 2015, 94/100

'Good deep red. Deep, wild aromas of raspberry, plum, cherry, leather and botanical herbs, accented by dusty spices. Brisk acidity intensifies the sappy dark berry flavors; expanded impressively with air while maintaining its outstanding inner-mouth tension. Finishes juicy and succulent, with big, broad tannins and superb perfumed length. Made from a Portuguese grape variety found mostly in the Douro Valley, where it is a key ingredient in many ports, this wine struck me as like a hypothetical blend of a Rhone and a Piedmont wine. Sadie, who admitted that he overextracted this fruit in 2010 and 2011, told me that he will put a bit of this vineyard into his flagship Columella bottling, which is a regional wine rather than an expression of a single site.' - Stephen Tanzer, Vinous, 91+/100 (Apr 2015)

'2014 Swartland tinta barocca feels like Soldaat's no-frills, overalled brother. Lively, with dry, grippy tannin, generous (but still masked) raspberry fruit & spritzy, appetising acidity. Eben Sadie's own 'red of the vintage', needs time to settle down & reveal its inner self.' - Platter's SA Wine Guide 2014, 4.5*