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Citrusdal Mountain, South Africa
Skurfberg's 2021 vintage is a tightrope walk of tension and vibrancy. On the nose, citrus peel bursts open - think grapefruit, Granny Smith apple, and even a whisper of guava. Beneath, a steely minerality emerges, reminiscent of wet river stones and salty air. The palate mirrors this duality, medium-bodied yet laser-focused. Granny Smith apple skin and white peach mingle with a fleeting honeyed note, all underpinned by a racy acidity that demands attention. It's a wine built for exploration - pair it with grilled seafood, briny oysters, or even hard cheeses like pecorino romano to unlock its full spectrum. Skurfberg's 2021 is a precise and powerful expression of Chenin, a testament to the Swartland's rugged terroir.
Skurfberg's 2021 vintage is a tightrope walk of tension and vibrancy. On the nose, citrus peel bursts open - think grapefruit, Granny Smith apple, and even a whisper of guava. Beneath, a steely minerality emerges, reminiscent of wet river stones and salty air. The palate mirrors this duality, medium-bodied yet laser-focused. Granny Smith apple skin and white peach mingle with a fleeting honeyed note, all underpinned by a racy acidity that demands attention. Skurfberg's 2021 is a precise and powerful expression of Chenin, a testament to the Swartland's rugged terroir.
It's a wine built for exploration - pair it with grilled seafood, briny oysters, or even hard cheeses like pecorino romano to unlock its full spectrum.
Varietal / Blend: Chenin Blanc
Decant: Recommended
Closure: Cork
Farming Practices: Organic
The Sadie Family team work with roughly 30 hectares of vines, one-third of which are estate, with the other vines farmed entirely under their control. This is quite the undertaking when you consider, at their furthest point, the vineyards lie some 250 miles apart and are spread across 53 separate parcels. Then consider that everything is dry grown and organically farmed and that each parcel, having different geologies, aspects and often grape varieties, will require different management. These vines, (from overwhelmingly old parcels), lie mostly on the high-altitude slopes of Swartland’s Atlantic-influenced mountains, one hour north of Cape Town on the Western Cape.
The terroirs include Paardeberg Mountain (on granite), Riebeek Mountain (slate), Piquetberg (sandstone and quartz), Coastal Plain (chalk) and Malmesbury (Glenrosa clay). Further afield, several of the Old Vine Series plots fall outside of the Swartland WO, notably Soldaat in the Piekenierskloof highlands and the Skurfberg vineyards in Citrusdal Mountain. There are no chemical additives to either the vines or the soils—a philosophy which extends to the cellar. Sadie’s key challenge in the vineyard, he notes, is preserving the grape’s acidity, freshness and purity—a challenge that starts in the vineyards with building the (previously neglected) soils’ life through inter-planting and organic composting. Whatever he’s doing, it’s working as the wines lack for nothing when it comes to energy and freshness.
