wine info
Badenhorst Family Wines
It is some time now since we shipped for the first time from Adi Badenhorst - he of the interesting facial hair, top parrot-breeder and winemaker of rare genius - after he gave up his post as the head winemaker at Rustenberg. Alongside his family-owned vineyards at Kalmoesfontein farm on the Paardeberg, Adi’s cellar is now looking fully renovated and he was in ebullient form when visited in March. His wines have found favour everywhere - from our band of customers to wine critics around the world.
What is his secret? Well, he is crafting wines in a very traditional, minimal interventionist manner, using concrete fermentation tanks and old oak, often big old barrels which give no wood tannins at all. Whilst he professes total naivety along the lines of “Ach, man, we dump it all in here and it just makes itself”, he is also highly thoughtful. He prefers to leave his reds, post-fermentation, on their skins for 6-12 months - as he believes this delivers smooth tannins, texture and suppleness. He is also moving towards picking earlier, to avoid jamminess and to seek a more perfumed, Rhône-like style.
Related Wines
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Product Code: BAD116
Badenhorst, Secateurs White, Chenin Blanc, Swartland, 2016
“From old - largely planted in the 1960s - vines on Adi Badenhorst’s family farm on the Paardebeerg, plus fruit from a neighbour. About 10% goes...”
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Product Code: BAD615
Badenhorst, Secateurs Red, Coastal Region, 2015
“Adi Badenhorst’s Shiraz-based blend, sourced partly from the grapes on his own estate on the Paardeberg and part from other farms in...”
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Product Code: BAD315
Badenhorst Family White, Coastal Region, 2015
“This is the top white blend made by Adi Badenhorst, hirsute parrot breeder and winemaking genius. The target is consistent, a densely textured,...”
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Product Code: BAD814
Badenhorst Family Red, Coastal Region, 2014
“The blend varies from vintage to vintage but this is always based on Syrah: 56% this vintage, plus 17% of each of Grenache and Cinsaut and 10% Tinta...”
