Old Vines, New Riches: How Bacchus Gifted Eben Sadie a Liquid Fortune in Columella 2018
Old Vines, New Riches: How Bacchus Gifted Eben Sadie a Liquid Fortune in Columella 2018
From a moon-soaked meeting in Swartland to a 15.2% compound annual return, discover why Sadie Family’s Columella 2018 belongs in any serious wine portfolio.
A Moonlit Pact
I first crossed paths with Eben Sadie on a wind-swept October night in 1998. Swartland’s granite ridges glimmered like hammered bronze beneath the full moon, and the young winemaker paced his weather-beaten rows, doubting that South Africa’s forgotten vines could ever rival Bordeaux’s blue bloods. Disguised as a dusty traveler - gods relish anonymity - I asked for shelter. Around a crackling braai fire I poured him amphora wine that shimmered like starlight. Each sip revealed a different spirit: Syrah’s thunder, Carignan’s grit, Cinsault’s perfume, Grenache’s flame, Mourvèdre’s depth, Tinta Barocca’s bittersweet soul. I charged him to unite these six voices; a glowing vine tendril curled into his calloused palm, sealing the pact.
Drought-Year Alchemy
Two decades later the brutal 2018 drought shrank yields but concentrated flavour. Sadie’s blend - 45 percent Syrah plus the five companions - underwent wild-yeast ferments and élevage in neutral foudres and clay amphora. Christian Eedes called the result “simply scintillating,” pinning a 97-point badge on its chest, a score echoed in Winemag’s October 2020 “Top Wines” list.
Market Performance: From Dust to Dollars
Today Columella 2018 holds a mid-price of US $377 on Liv-ex, almost double the $192 recorded in November 2020 - an enviable 15.2% CAGR even after the 2023 liquidity crunch. Retail lags badly: Wine-Searcher shows an average ex-tax ticket of about $173, gifting nimble buyers a margin north of 50 percent.
Auction Chatter
Scarcity is no myth. At Aspire Art’s June 2025 sale in Cape Town a three-bottle original wooden case hammered for R8 208 (roughly US $435), brushing the upper estimate and signalling sustained collector appetite. Comparable lots fetch similar premiums whenever they surface, underscoring a global thirst for large formats and pristine provenance.
Volatility and Risk
Every divine elixir carries mortal peril. Columella’s South-African secondary market is thin, so bid-ask spreads can veer like a startled kudu, generating volatility above 300%. During the 2023 risk-off stampede, prices sank 49% before clawing back within a year. Yet full LWIN 11254032018 tracking ensures transparency, and production rarely tops 3 000 cases - scarcer than many Burgundy premier crus. Sadie’s cult aura supplies a loyal buyer base that treats his bottles like heirlooms.
Provenance & Cellaring
Safeguard the god’s gift. Demand original wooden cases, temperature-logged transit, and shock sensors proving the wine never roasted above 20°C. Cellar at a steady 12°C with 70 percent humidity; Columella’s silk-thread tannins will hum from 2030 to 2040, unfurling lavender, pomegranate, and the flinty scent of Swartland dust after rain.
Portfolio Strategy
Slot three to six bottles - or a statement double-magnum - into a diversified cellar heavy on Bordeaux anchors. Treat Columella as a high-beta satellite: if South-African fine wine keeps storming global rankings the bottle could crest $725 by 2027, yet a 25 percent trailing stop guards against the next drought-year scare. Honour both the myth and the math.
Final Toast
I slipped away from Eben Sadie before dawn’s first light, footprints fading among vine rows newly watered by lunar dew. He has since turned that spark into a wine that glows on trading terminals and dinner tables alike. For investors brave enough to court emerging-market volatility, Columella 2018 offers the rare chance to drink - and profit from - the moment a god’s challenge became liquid gold.
