Vineyard Location: Swartland – St. Helena Bay

Grapes: Chenin Blanc / Steen (South African synonym), Palomino / Vaalblaar (South African synonym)

Ageing: 12 Months in old Acacia and Oak foudres

Soils: Limestones base with pH up to 9, with sandy top layer.

VINIFICATION | After harvesting the grapes are placed in a cooling room to reduce the temperature, since the average temperatures are often 35 degrees or more – and pressing warm grapes comes with its own series of problems. We then do whole bunch pressing, a process that takes about 3 hours during which time there is a margin of settling of the juice in the collecting tank. The juice is then transferred to two old foudres for fermentation.

The natural fermentation can sometimes take up to 5 days or more to start. The fermentation may continue from 1 to 6 months and sometimes it only finishes in the following spring, by which time the malolactic fermentation would often have come to completion as well.

AGEING | The wine is left in cask on the fermentation lees for the entire first 12 months and we bottle from the lees. Only about 50ppm of sulphur is added 2 weeks prior to bottling.

NOTES | Skerpioen (Scorpion) is a wine from a very unique location halfway between Dwarskersbos and Elands Bay on the West Coast. One of the most amazing aspects of this location is the fact that the soils are chalky (limestone). In addition to that it is one of the coolest parts of the Swartland region, located a mere 2km from the Atlantic Ocean, but it is also a very dry area with an average rainfall of around 300mm per year.

This location is home to some of the most intense south-easterly winds and the old vines look almost abused after having been battered by winds and blowing sand for years and years.

The 2024 Skerpioen displays peach and citrus flavours and a touch of tropical aspects, migrating to the trademark salty brine characteristics associated with this vineyard. This 2024 vintage has a slightly lower acidity than usual, and the aromatics suggest it can be enjoyed earlier. The Skerpioen is one of our white wines that are the first to be ready for enjoyment in our range of whites.

Technical Details

Yield 28 hl/ha

Alcohol 13 %

Residual Sugar 1,7 g/L

pH 3,23

Total Acidity 5,8 g/L

Total Sulphur 88 mg/L

Data Sheet:

https://thesadiefamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Skerpioen-2024.pdf