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 | 2024 Sonvang - Sadie Family Wines | € 64,44 (€ 77,97) |
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VOLGENS EBEN SADIE This maiden 2024 Sonvang vintage displays Mediterranean rosemary and herbal aromas, tangled with bright red fruit. The wine is youthful and embryonic and hosts a slight perfect reduction that will carry it into the future. The powdery and firm tannins have class and elegance and are knotted and stitched together with the acidity to produce enormous length to the wine. This wine needs time, and we are delighted with this maiden release. Translated, Sonvang means “Sun Catch”, and the name was given to this west-facing vineyard because it soaks up all the afternoon setting sun. By definition, it is a warmer site. Historically, late-ripening sites were associated with being the better-quality, yielding locations in colder climates. On the contrary, we have learned that the red grape varieties, especially in warm climates benefit from earlier ripening. It is possible to pick the fruit with most of the natural acidity, and in some cases it can be even better if the harvest happens before many heatwaves that may arrive. Sonvang is a vineyard that does precisely that. The vineyard is planted to Alicante Bouchet, Agiorgitiko, Pontac, Bastardo do Castello, Tinta Amarella, Tinta Barocca, Lleudoner Pelut, Grenache Noir, Pinotage, Cinsaut, Counoise and Carignan. Like Twiswind’s current reality, we mainly have two harvests at this stage, with the long-term objective of the entire vineyard in one go. The two pickings are fermented in concrete and pressed into an old foudre and a concrete tank where the wine is aged for fourteen months before bottling. The vineyard’s character is already incredibly unique and original, nothing compared to what has been before and a story that needs to be told. IN DE PERS 95 Neal Martin – vinous.com (Oktober 2025) The maiden 2024 Sonvang, a field blend of varieties in Eben Sadie's nursery, certainly has one of the more exotic and out-there aromatics with scents of red fruit, hickory, struck flint... something almost volcanic about this. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant dark berry fruit, touches of white pepper, Provençal herbs and black truffle. Wonderfully balanced, granular in texture, insistent grip on the finish with a persistent finish, this is an outstanding debut. Drink 2027-2048. Two major bits of news: firstly, Eben Sadie’s new winery is now up and running. The 2024 vintage is the first made in the new facility, which friend and neighbour Adi Badenhorst has dubbed the “church of Eben.” Indeed, there is a quasi-ecclesiastical vibe to the new buildings that would not look out of place in Bordeaux, planned down to the very last detail by Sadie himself. Clearly, he is relieved that after years of construction and all the stress that entails, the builders have finally left. Sadie can now enjoy what is incontrovertibly the most impressive winery in Swartland, replete with a gravity-fed system, a library of back vintages, a tasting room and a state-of-the-art kitchen so that his workers are properly fed. Secondly, two new cuvées have been added to the Old Vine Series portfolio. “Sonvang is a single vineyard of 12 varieties from our nursery, which is designed to improve massal selection,” Sadie told me as he began to list the varieties. “Alicante, Pontac, Trincadeira, Tinta Barroca, Cinsault, Grenache, Carignan, Pinotage, Counoise…. Each variety is planted in rows to examine for virus, and they are picked around eight days apart. This is the third vintage we have made but the first to be commercialised. It has the highest natural acid amongst my wines.” The other new introduction is Twiswind, a sibling to Sonvang inasmuch as it is a white field blend, including Assyrtiko, Clairette, Grillo, Sémillon and others. “The 2024 vintage is the first for which the new winery was fully up and running. The investment has made a big difference. During the season, it didn’t rain for seven-and-a-half months, which was very challenging at the end of ripening. Fortunately, we had 30% of the wind in 2024 that we had in 2021, so there was less evapotranspiration, and the heatwaves in February were not intense. All the reds in the OVS use 30% whole cluster.” (Sadie confessed that, looking back, he used too many stems between 2012 and 2015.) It is no news to anyone familiar with South African wine that Eben Sadie’s wines can be spellbinding. They are not for everyone, and the Old Vine Series in particular would not appeal to those seeking fruit-forward, ripe and immediately satisfying wines. They can be minimalist in style, based around texture and nuance, opening with time in the glass but never obvious. The new wines clearly deserve their places in such auspicious company, especially the 2024 Sonvang. Among the difficult-to-pronounce other labels (unless you are Dutch), this year I was taken by Chenin Blanc or Chenin blends such as the Skerpioen, Rotsbank and Mev. Kirsten. The 2023 Columella is outstanding. Fans of Sadie’s signature red cuvée should note that I will be undertaking a comprehensive vertical of this alongside mature bottles of OVS later this year. Sadie Family WinesWinery of the Year - Platter’s South African Wine Guide 2015 SadieThe Swartland Independent Producers veranderen Zuid Afrika als wijnland. Hun pionier is één van de beste wijnmakers ter wereld (en een ervaren surfer) genaamd Eben Sadie. Hij wordt vereerd als National Treasure en gamechanger. Hij ontgint wonderlijke terroirs, herstelt verwaarloosde bushvines en leidt de avant-garde in doordachte wijnbouw en vinificatie. Zijn Columella en Palladius zijn de eerste Afrikaanse Grands Vins. Daarnaast biedt zijn iconische “Ouwingerdreeks” kleine loten eigenzinnige bewaarwijnen uit specifieke climats. Appreciëer deze boeiende en betekenisvolle wijnen zolang de voorraad strekt. 2017 Winemakers' Winemaker Award, Institute of Masters of Wine Jane Masters MW, chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine - Eben’s determined search to produce outstanding wines has put Swartland and South Africa on the map. I am delighted that the Master of Wine Winemakers have rewarded his dedication and talent – it’s truly well deserved. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||