It was a day of contrasts – the very young and the very old, and, in this instance, they got on very well together.

Coincidentally, I chose to drive to Riebeek Kasteel through the country route behind Paarl; after the weekend downpour, the Swartland’s wheatfields and pastures looked a brilliant, youthful green; in contrast, the gnarled old bush vines, looked dark and seemingly lifeless. This was a good introduction to the launch in the grand surroundings of Riebeek Kasteel’s Royal Hotel, of Eben Sadie’s new, young wines from old vines.

The story behind this venture has been well covered by my colleague, Tim James, but I hadn’t realised quite how ‘hands-off’ Eben approached turning the fruit of these old vines into wine.

He was at pains to show us exactly how it is done, having brought along buckets in which the grapes are collected, tiny wooden press, an old oak barrel and a wide necked funnel (as in the photo). The grapes are foot-trodden in the buckets, the juice extracted in the press and channelled into the barrel via the funnel. ‘Then I stand back and do nothing until bottling the wine out of the barrel, unfiltered and unfined. Finished and klaar!’

As easy as Eben makes it sound, it is obvious that meticulous care and attention to detail are required to ‘do nothing’ and arrive with not only drinkable wine but a sextet with the distinction of these.

The results stand testimony to Eben’s skill and his desire to reflect nothing but how the old vines express their environment.

For those who anticipate show stoppers, forget it. In many ways, the six wines are understated, which doesn’t mean a lack of personality, just that they are allowed to express themselves without shouting about it.

If they have one characteristic in common it is that they are all alive; a difficult concept to describe without tasting, but it has to have something to do with the totally natural approach, which includes most of the vines being grown on their own roots.

My notes follow. All the wines are from the 2009 vintage.

Skurfberg  – a chenin from three properties belonging to Basie van Lill, Henk Laing and Jozua Visser on the slopes of the Skurfberg between Clanwilliam and Lamberts Bay. More vinous, wet earth than fruity aromas. Very fresh, almost tangy and tight with tropical fruit weight and viscosity underneath.

Kokerboom – Semillon both white and red from Henk Laing’s Skurfberg vineyards. Deep yet quiet aromatic mix lemon, fresh earth and beeswax. Rich, focused, intense and dry.

‘T Voetpad – white and red Semillon, palomino and chenin from Dirk Brand’s 1,4 ha vineyard in the remote area near Aurora and Elands Bay on the West Coast.  Possibly my favourite white. Richer in colour and aroma than the previous too, a haunting wax, honey, bruised apple medley. Again very fresh, tight but with rich base notes and a whistle clean, long finish. As with the others, the alcohol is high, but well hidden due to excellent balance.

Mev. Kirsten – Mrs Kirsten’s chenin is already well-known, as Eben has been involved with this vineyard at the foot of the Botmanskop in Stellenbosch’s Jonkershoek Valley since 2006. Even here, the vines are ungrafted. This is probably the closest to the wines we’re used to today in that it does show much brighter chenin fruit; this is due to an initial carbonic maceration, a method Eben uses on these grapes because of their tendency to oxidation. After the floral, honeyed fragrance, the intense steely palate comes as quite a shock, but this marked acid is matched by fruit weight and viscosity. This will age brilliantly.

Pofadder – the one red, from cinsaut and an example that should show the variety deserves much more respect than it generally does. Fruit here comes from a 45 year old vineyard on the Riebeek Mountain. Although the whole bunches were foot crushed, some of the berries still ended up whole in the fermentation cask, which has given the wine plenty of charming fruit but there is structure as well. Lots of eye-appeal in its translucent purple, crimson hue complemented by the fresh raspberries, violets fragrance. An elegant wine to enjoy in the freshness of youth.

Eselshoek – from Muscat d’Alexandrie (Hanepoot) planted in 1900 in the ‘T Voetpad vineyard. The grapes were hung out to dry, when birds threatened to pick the crop themselves before it had ripened sufficiently. The juice filled just one 124 litre old wooden barrel and took a year to ferment, finishing with 285 grams per litre of sugar and an alcohol of 11.5%. If any wine evokes the old Cape, it is this with its rich gold colour, intense nutty, bruised apple, grapey nose, unctuous flavourful texture and brilliant cleansing acid.

For the R3500-odd this collection costs, you not only get the wines but also the evocative labels designed by William Kentridge and the handsome wooden case in which these are packed. In reality, the price is little compared with the piece of history you will own.

After the rural grandeur of the Royal Hotel, we retired to Baa Baa Black Sheep across the road to enjoy lunch - presentation is as idiosyncratic as the restaurant’s decoration, as this photo shows! - with the wines; which proved them both food friendly and moreish. The good news is that Eben’s old vine project is ongoing.

As I say, it was a day of contrasts but proved that young and old can very happily get on together.