2023 Rotsbank
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Tasting notes
The Sadie Family's 2023 Swartland Old Vine Series Rotsbank is Chenin Blanc that is especially tightly knit, flinty and mineral in personality. That reductive quality bodes well for the long haul, and you should resist opening this bottle within five years of the harvest. Glimmers of honey, almond blossom and pithy stone fruit shine from within. This site is characterized by weathered granite soils on a shallow shelf. In fact, the name Rotsbank means "rock bench" in Afrikaans. Eben Sadie says he had his eye on this vineyard for 14 years, but it belonged to the local cooperative. He was finally able to buy it, and the first vintage made was 2022. I love the reductive character of this wine; it adds a snap and tension, like a rubber band.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin
Monica Larner, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The sophomore 2023 Rotsbank is the only Chenin that evolves a gunflint tincture, according to Eben Sadie. That comes through on the nose, which has more complexity than the Skurfberg this year. Pear, honeysuckle, crushed stone and light walnut scents blossom in the glass. The palate has exquisite balance and energy, real complexity and drive, and an almost penetrating finish that demands the finest oysters known to mankind. This is rapidly staking a claim to be Eben Sadie's finest wine in a stellar portfolio.
About the producer
Since he started making wine under his own name in 2000, Eben Sadie became a cult name in South Africa. The Swartland producer is best known for his flagship Columella and Palladius, but he also makes a range of whites and reds under the Old Vine Series, which became the District Series in 2025.