Saga Vineyards new release

By , 5 March 2024

Comment

4

Winemaker Reenen Borman plus business partners Henk Kotze Fritz Schoon have enjoyed great success with their Patatsfontein (including a Chenin Blanc and a white blend) and Sons of Sugarland (Syrah and Barbera) labels for some time now but realised that their offering needed to be consolidated and hence the new umbrella brand called “Saga Vineyards” with hot air balloon motif.

Tasting notes and ratings for the new releases as follows:

Patatsfontein Steen 2023
Price: R420
Grapes from a Montagu vineyard of Chenin Blanc planted in 1984. Borman describes 2023 as a “classic” vintage in the sense of no rain pressure and it shows. Complex aromatics of pear, peach, lime, hay, herbs and floral perfume precede a palate of awesome clarity – great fruit concentration and driving acidity, the finish long and deeply savoury. Linear but not aggressively so, just wonderfully focused and composed.

CE’s rating: 97/100.

Sons of Sugarland Syrah 2023
Price: R420
Grapes from Jozua Joubert’s Karibib farm in the Polkadraai Hills. As ever, 100% whole-bunch fermented and matured in concrete. Red berries, rose, buchu, cured meat and white pepper on the nose. The palate is pure and energetic with powdery tannins. Light bodied (alcohol is 13.5%) but still remarkably flavourful. A particularly elegant and refined vintage.

CE’s rating: 96/100.

Comments

4 comment(s)

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    PK | 8 March 2024

    These wines remind me of Manie Libbok dropping ‘no-look’ cross kicks in the RWC, casually as if it an everyday thing. Every time you come across these wines, you are left with the same reaction, “holy sh#t did that just happen”.

    Whenever conversations come up about some of the best and most thought provoking examples of Chenin Blanc and Syrah in the country, more times than not, Patatsfontein and Sons of Sugarland is either part of or the topic of conversation.

    Should these be as highly sought-after and lauded as some of the country’s most sought after offerings, or are these wines in their happy place at cruising altitude… maybe better so, meaning at least more of us can still get our hands on them.

    Lastly, can we agree that Karibib may just be our ‘Hill of Hermitage’!

    Jos | 5 March 2024

    Are these even available anywhere? Feels like they are always sold out.

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