The Sadie Family Sonvang 2024

This cuvée comes from the western slope of the Paardeberg, in the Swartland, north of Cape Town. The field-blend vineyard lies on weathered granite soils and catches most of the afternoon sun, hence its name, Sonvang. Twelve Mediterranean grape varieties were chosen for it for their resistance to the heat and drought of a climate that is set to get warmer.

The grapes are still harvested in several passes, according to the ripeness of each variety. They are fermented with 30% whole bunches and 70% destemmed berries, with a maceration of 25 to 30 days before pressing in a vertical basket press. The wine is aged for 11 months on the lees in concrete tanks and old foudres.

This wine reveals notes of rosemary, red fruit, cherry, redcurrant, garrigue, pepper, smoked paprika and gunflint. Mediterranean herbs intertwine with bright red fruit, underlined by a subtle reduction. The palate is young and tight, built on powdery, firm tannins that the acidity carries into a finish of great length.

The first vines were planted in South Africa by Dutch settlers in the 1650s, although wine production did not really begin to take off until the arrival of French Protestants, in the 1680s, with their skills and their knowledge of viticulture. Stellenbosch is also a historic wine region, with the first vineyards being planted there in the 1690s.



Today South Africa is one of the most important wine producing countries in the southern hemisphere. With over 300 years of winemaking history, it is often described as a bridge between the Old and New Worlds. The majority of wines are produced using New World winemaking techniques, but they often have more in common stylistically with their Old World counterparts. Since the end of apartheid, South African wine has received international attention and acclaim for its wide variety of styles.



South Africa's wine industry is spread across the lush and rugged landscape of the Western Cape. Here, the abundance of mountains, valleys and plateaus allows winemakers to produce a wide variety of styles. Vineyards can also be found in the Orange River region of the Northern Cape, where the flat, arid landscape is dominated by the Kalahari Desert. Most of South Africa's wine regions have a Mediterranean climate, strongly influenced by the meeting of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.



The country's signature grape variety is Pinotage, an indigenous cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsaut that is rarely found in quantity in other wine-producing countries. Shiraz (Syrah) is also widely planted, as are Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (often combined in a Bordeaux blend). South African Chardonnay, Chenin and Sauvignon Blanc have become popular internationally in recent years.