2024 Sadie Family - Tinta Barocca Swartland Treinspoor (750ml)

Eben Sadie is widely credited with putting the Swartland on the map as a serious wine region, building his reputation on old bush vines, dry farming, and a relentless focus on individual sites rather than broad blends. His Old Vine Series tracks down some of the Cape's most overlooked vineyards and varieties, and Treinspoor is his flagship expression of Tinta Barocca, a grape with Portuguese roots that Sadie considers to have found its true home in the Swartland.

The wine comes from a single vineyard planted in 1974 beside an old railway line west of Malmesbury, which gives Treinspoor its name. The bush vines grow in decomposed granite and iron-rich sandstone, forming a natural canopy that shields the variety's thin, fragile skins from the sun. Fermentation happens spontaneously with a portion of whole clusters, and the wine matures in a mix of large old oak and concrete, a combination chosen to build structure while letting the site's character come through untouched.

The 2024 pours a vivid purple and opens with black cherry, blackcurrant, and violet, layered with liquorice, graphite, and earthy spice. The structure leans firm and age-worthy, with serious tannin and bright acidity underneath. Pair it with braised short ribs, roast duck, or a well-aged hard cheese.