2025 David & Nadia "Topography" Pinotage, Swartland, South Africa

ABOUT THIS WINE

Topography is centered on the Paardeberg area of Swartland. The Pinotage as comes from dry-farmed bush vines planted between 1991 and 1998, growing around 240 meters elevation on both solid and decomposed granite deposits. The vineyards are farmed with an organic-minded approach; David & Nadia emphasize biological farming, healthy soils, and minimal intervention in the cellar. 

The Topography project focuses on vineyards associated with a specific farm around David & Nadia’s restored historic cellar in the Siebritskloof Valley of the Paardeberg, rather than being a broad regional blend.

Vinification involves a portion of whole bunches (historically around 20%), fermentation in concrete and large vertical wooden vessels, very gentle extraction, typically only one punch-down per day, and maturation in an old 4,000-liter foudre. 

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

David & Nadia is a small, family-run winery based in the Paardeberg area of South Africa’s Swartland, founded by David and Nadia Sadie. With backgrounds in winemaking, viticulture, and soil science, the couple is deeply committed to expressing the distinctive landscapes of the Swartland through thoughtful farming and minimal-intervention winemaking.

Their work centers on dry-farmed, low-yielding vineyards, many planted to old bush vines across the region’s diverse granite, shale, clay, and iron-rich soils. Chenin Blanc is at the heart of the estate, alongside Grenache and other Mediterranean varieties particularly well suited to the Swartland’s warm, dry climate. Their meticulous approach in the vineyard emphasizes healthy soils, individual sites, and preserving the character of these remarkable old vines.

In the cellar, David & Nadia take a restrained approach, relying on natural fermentations and neutral vessels such as older French oak, large foudres, and concrete. Rather than power or heavy oak influence, the wines emphasize freshness, purity, texture, and a clear sense of place. The result is an elegant and expressive interpretation of the Swartland that has established David & Nadia among the region’s most exciting producers.