David & Nadia, Elpidios Swartland 2019

94 points James Suckling
"Brambleberries, blueberries, crushed stones, orange zest, pink peppercorns and dried roses on the nose. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, very fine tannins. Layered, textured and mineral with a vibrant, wild finish. 38% grenache noir, 36% syrah, 10% pinotage, 9% carignan and 7% cinsault. Drink or hold."

94 points Tim Atkins
"Made in the last of the so-called drought vintages, this stylish red assemblage has been Grenache-led since 2017, with 62% Syrah, Pinotage, Carignan and Cinsault completing the picture. Grippy, firm and stony, with 50% whole bunch spices, a waft of rose petal and tangy red cherry, plum and redcurrant fruit."

93 points Vinous
"The 2019 Elpidios presents a beautifully defined nose of Bing cherry, boysenberry and raspberry preserve, touches of sous-bois and Provençal herbs developing with time. The palate is medium-bodied, with the Grenache firmly in the driving seat (38% of the blend), delivering touches of clove and white pepper and a persistent, caressing, fleshy finish that lingers. Excellent."

Janics Robinson
"Full bottle 1,355 g. 38% Grenache Noir, 36% Syrah, 10% Pinotage (they no longer make a varietal Pinotage, alas), 9% Carignan, 7% Cinsault – all dry farmed.
Really quite transparent garnet. Complex, penetrating, even haunting, nose. Quite ethereal although the palate is initially marked by the sweetness of Grenache. Very satisfying combination of earth (there’s a certain earthiness about the palate) and air (the ethereal nature of the perfume). Though I should imagine that this is the taste of Swartland. Extremely long. I don’t remember being as thrilled by an Elpidios before. Maybe the 2017… but this is readier. 17.5/20 points."

Vinous Reverie Notes
Winery: David & Nadia is a family owned Swartland driven project and we focus on a spectrum of organic, old and dry land bush vine vineyards from different areas with different soil types throughout the Swartland, farmed by like-minded people. We are members of the Swartland Independent Producers. In the vineyard we aim for biological farming and in the cellar we work as natural as possible. It is all about the soil and vineyards after all. We believe in a pure, fresh and natural style where site and soil are at work with minimal influence from a winemaking point of view. Elpidios 2015 Grapes from seven different Swartland vineyards are used, focusing on schist and granite soils of the mountains of the Swartland. The blend consists of Carignan (39%), Syrah (31%), Pinotage (16%), Cinsaut (9%) and Grenache (5%). 30 – 50% whole bunches are sorted and then used in the bottom of an open tank. The rest of the grapes are all sorted, destemmed but not crushed and added to the tank on top of the whole bunches. Maximum healthy pre-ferment cold soak with a daily punch down and CO2 gas coverage are maintained. Spontaneous fermentation occurs in the tank and we allow maximum extended skin contact (approximately 4 weeks in total). Grapes are gently pressed and drained to old French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation. Wines are matured in barrel for seventeen months.