Liberty Wines has added Swartland producer A.A. Badenhorst Family Wines to its South Africa portfolio. 

Known for its minimal intervention expressions, Badenhorst has 180ha of old bush vines grown in the Siebritskloof part of the Paardeberg mountain. 

The estate is owned by Andre Adriaan Badenhorst, who bought the land with his cousin in 2008. 

The news of Badenhorst’s arrival comes at the same time as South African wine expert Damon Quinlan joins the Liberty team as senior key account manager and South Africa Lead, further strengthening its focus on the country. 

Quinlan was previously best known as director of alternative fine wine business Swig Wines, which already had a working relationship with Badenhorst. 

Tom Platt, Liberty wines CEO, said: “Adi Badenhorst was one of the leading lights of the Swartland Revolution and South African New Wave movement. As hands-on in the vineyard as he is hands-off in the winery, Adi has a personality as characterful as the wines he makes.  

“From his ‘Secateurs’ range that punches well above its weight, through his layered and complex ‘Kalmoesfontein’ field blends, to his top tier Single Vineyard old bush-vine Chenin Blanc and Grenache, these wines are benchmarks for the region.” 

Badenhorst added: “We would like to say a huge thank you to the team at Swig for all their great work over the last 15 years. We look forward to building on this in partnership with Liberty Wines and are delighted to continue working with Damon Quinlan in championing South African wine in the UK.” 

Meanwhile, Quinlan said: “I’m delighted to be joining Liberty Wines, a company I have long admired and whose portfolio is outstanding. Their South African producers read like a ‘who’s who’ of the Cape wine scene and I’m particularly excited to be working with this illustrious group, most of whom are great friends.” 

Image: Adi Badenhorst