The Tempus 2021 wine is a 100% Kasteelberg Syrah and today marks the official release following its recent arrival direct from Sadie Family Wines. Just 640 bottles were produced.
Dear Reader,
For the first time, we are releasing Tempus seperately to the allocation campaign of Sadie Family Wines we run every year. The wine does not make up part of the estate wines of Columella and Palladius and range of Ouwingerdreeks. It stands alone, a wine made in partnership between Great Domaines and Sadie Family Wines.
The 2021 vintage of Tempus is a 100% Syrah which is produced from a vineyard situated in Riebeek Kasteel and is planted on slate soils on the slopes of the Kasteelberg. This is the highest density Syrah vineyard that Eben and his team work with and, at just fifteen years of age now, the Syrah from here is already producing wine with ”amazingly bright fruit fresh aromatics with well-structured tannins”, according to Eben.
Of the 640 bottles produced, we have kept a small portion aside to share on offer here today.
The story behind Tempus
A few years ago, Great Domaines began entertaining the idea of making its own wine to give its European producers a bottle on each annual visit. With the high calibre of wine being made in South Africa, this wine of ours was of course going to be South African and we therefore formed a partnership with one of the country’s best producers, Sadie Family Wines.
The name “Tempus” (the Latin word for time) was chosen to honour the processes of growing vines, making wine, cellaring it and building relationships in order to share it. Each wine in the Tempus series is made as a one-off, on an annual basis and in very limited quantities.
To date, we have released a 2015 Grenache Noir, a 2016 Chenin Blanc, a 2017 Syrah (all from the Swartland), a 2019 Chenin Blanc from Paarl and a 2020 Syrah from Paardeberg. The average production of each wine has been between 500 and 700 bottles as we have a single concrete egg situated in the Sadie Family winery used to vinify each vintage.
”Sometimes things come across your path in a year of viticulture and you say: ”Wow, this is incredible”. Or you go out and you see a vineyard and you say to yourself you wish you could have worked with this. But you know that every time you feel like this you cannot just start a new wine. The Tempus project with Great Domaines for me is fantastic because it allows us every year to make something that is special and to get the blood pumping again.”
Eben Sadie|July 2020
This Syrah is elegant, fresh and enticing – revealing pure, bright brambly red fruit aromas on the nose. On the palate, the wine is velvety and energetic and laced with crunchy, yet perfectly ripe and moreish fruit. This is an impeccably balanced Syrah which is ‘light on its feet’ and finishes fresh and with decent length. The Tempus 2021 Syrah bears unmistakable Sadie class. Drink this wine now and over the next 5-7 years.
Tempus
Syrah 2021 Kasteelberg
(750ml)
R 435 per bottle
Limited to 6 bottles per person/order
