A.A. Badenhorst, Secateurs Rosé, Swartland, South Africa

About the Wine:

Mourvedre. This has a nice green tinge to the sweet cherry and berry fruit. Dry and gastronomic with a twist of sour cherry. Juicy and expressive with nice balance. This is a truly unique rose as it was made from very old vines and really displays the minerality that characterizes the wines from their farm. The aromas are complex red fruits, spice, rose water, currants and the palate is generous and textured with a long finish.

About the Producer:

Andre Adriaan Badenhorst grew up between the vineyards of Constantia and spent his time picking (stealing) grapes. “It all started when Jean Daneel, then winemaker at Buitenverwachting, let me make my first wine when I was thirteen,” Adi recalls.

After completing his studies at Elsenburg, Adi worked a few harvests at Chateau Angelus, Alain Graillot in the north Rhone, France and Wither Hills in New Zealand and did stints at local cellars Simonsig, Steenberg, Groote Post and nine years as winemaker at the esteemed Stellenbosch estate, Rustenberg.

In 2008 he packed it all in and bought a 60-hectare piece of land in the Paardeberg with his cousin Hein. They now proudly farm together, practice biological farming and make natural wines in the traditional manner.

On Kalmoesfontein it is back to basics, using traditional winemaking equipment and old cement kuipe. “We make wines with immense character. We’re using what we can afford. We are making the best wines we can. And we are having great experiences. I want to make something, involving interaction from my family.”

Today Adi Badenhorst is a much talked about winemaker, member of the Cape Winemakers Guild, founding member of the Swartland Revolution and Swartland Independent, proud dad to Samuel Sunnyskies & Ana Kalander and ever evolving Vigneron, amongst other things (like parrot farmer, LP collector, egg poaching pro, tea connoisseur, Land Cruiser driver, ponytail wearer and local legend…)

Technical: 

Mostly old bushvines planted in the 1950’s and 1960’s to Chenin Blanc, Cinsault  and Grenache. The vines are unirrigated and farmed as biologically as possible. The vineyards are planted on north, east, and south facing slopes bringing tremendous variety to the fruit. Fruit from other selected sites within the appellation are also purchased to complete the final blends.

Three distinct types of granites are found here, namely the Paardeberg-, Lammershoek- and Lemoenfontein-type plus different sub-surface geology including clay, weathered granite and some serious shale.

All fruit, red and white, is whole bunch-handled so no crushing or destemming takes place. The whites are tranferred directly to old casks or into concrete tanks for fermentation and ageing. The red grapes are fermented in concrete tanks and open wooden kuipe. The post fermentation maceration is lengthy – up to 4 months -whereafter the wines are put to cask or 4000L foudres. No additions are done to the grapes other than sulfur before and after fermentation.