Wine Advisor
David & Nadia, Aristargos 2024
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2024 Aristargos is a Chenin-led blend with some skin contact on the Colombard, 20% matured in cube and egg concrete vats. It has a vibrant nose with white fruit, beeswax and light lanolin scents. The palate is very well balanced with a keen line of acidity, bright citrus fruit marrying with pithy pear and lanolin notes towards the finish. Just a great Aristargos.
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
The David & Nadia 2024 Swartland Aristargos is a 24-component white blend anchored by Chenin Blanc with smaller portions of Semillon, Colombard, Roussanne, Clairette Blanche, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc, drawn from bush vines and trellised parcels across the Paardeberg. Viognier and Verdelho were excluded this year due to mildew disease pressure. Fermentations are natural and dry, with 20% matured in concrete and the remainder in older 300-liter barrels, while portions of Semillon and Colombard see brief skin contact. The oldest Semillon vines date to 1960, lending gravitas and quiet power. Swartland’s warm evenings and persistent winds dry the land, concentrating fruit while preserving tension in this beautifully layered wine.
About the Producer
David and Nadia Sadie met at the University of Stellenbosch when David shifted his focus to viticulture after a rugby injury ended his initial passion. He went on to work vintages around the world, from Marlborough to St. Emilion, before returning to South Africa. David eventually took over the cellar in the Swartland where Andrea and Chris Mullineux previously made wine, restoring it in 2014. Nadia joined him in 2016, and it has been a family affair ever since. She oversees viticulture for their project and manages the leased vineyards, employing biological farming practices by avoiding herbicides, planting cover crops, and experimenting with organic conversion. Together, David and Nadia produce high-acid, textured wines that have established them as one of the most highly regarded wineries in the Swartland.
