This is only the second vintage of this red wine from Eben Sadie and it’s a stunner! If we were to list all the grape varieties, we’d be here all day (there are a dozen), but fans of the weird and wonderful might like to know that it includes Pontac, Lledoner Pelut and Bastardo do Castillo! It takes a genius to conduct such a diverse ensemble of players, but Eben is just that and this is a masterpiece of orchestration.

It has beautiful top notes of cranberry, pomegranate, sandalwood, oriental tea and rosehip, which I realise makes it sound more like a scented candle than a wine, but the palate is more conventional - smooth, red-fruited, supple, elegant and deliciously redolent of the Mediterranean grapes that inspired Eben, including varieties from Croatia, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and North Africa. It has Eben’s signature of making red wines in the way you would make tea, through gentle infusion rather than heavy extraction, although Eben would probably baulk at the idea that he is imposing himself on the wine. 13.5% alc. ‘Sonvang’ means ‘sun catcher’. Drink now-2036

Press review:

Tim Atkin MW: “My discovery of the year in its maiden vintage, Sonvang is every bit as good in 2025. Sourced from a 2.4-hectare parcel of six-year-old vines below the cellar, it combines a dozen different Mediterranean varieties in equal proportions. Fermented with 30% whole clusters and aged in concrete and a Stockinger foudre, it has racy, granite-enhanced freshness, floral bramble, pomegranate and red cherry flavours and fine, sculpted tannins. Drink 2028-2038.” 96 points