Circumstance Sauvignon Blanc 2024

Circumstance Sauvignon Blanc, Waterkloof, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2024

Grape: 100% Sauvignon Blanc, sustainable farming, 20 year old vines, hand harvested, whole bunch pressed, wild yeast ferment in 600L old oak barrels, lees ageing

Producer Tasting Note:

Vibrant lime and gooseberry fruit on the nose, with crushed laurel on the nose along with lime and gooseberries and a lightly salty tang. This is a ripe and textured style of Sauvignon, with good concentration of citrus and stone fruit characters and fennel hints, leading to a taut, mineral acidity.

The Waterkloof estate itself has been certified both organic and biodynamic since 2015 and the vineyards used for this wine, only 2 miles from the ocean, consequently have healthy, living soils and only a natural, minimalistic approach to winemaking is used which show a real sense of place, rather than a created style.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

Full, screw-capped bottle a commendably light 1,175 g. This wine includes the fruit from the low-yielding vines that usually goes into the Waterkloof Sauvignon, which they decided not to make in 2024 – their smallest harvest ever. Regeneratively farmed vineyards about 5 km from the sea, windy and south-west facing. At an elevation of 270–300 m with sandstone soils that are stony enough for good drainage. Vines c 19 years old. Picked by hand, sorted by hand and whole-bunch pressed. Fermented with ambient yeast in old 600-litre barrels, taking 4 months to complete. Left on the gross less until bottling more than 8 months later. Light filtration and a small addition of sulphur added as a preservative prior to bottling. TA 6 g/l, pH 3.21, RS 3 g/l.

"Very pale. Intense but not stereotypical Sauvignon Blanc, no passion fruit or green pepper. Instead there's grapefruit, crushed stones, maybe just a hint of gooseberries. Even though there are a few grams of residual sugar, it has avoided the sweet-sour of not-bone-dry Sauvignon and does taste dry, with a firm, pithy texture from all that time on the lees. Deliciously fresh but not eye-watering, the texture and the depth of flavour balancing the high acidity"  Drink 2025-2027

16.5/20 points, Julia Harding MW, JANCISROBINSON.COM, September 2025

"Lemons, sliced pears and grapefruit on the nose of this fresh white. It’s medium-bodied, citrusy and juicy, with a stony freshness at the end. Sustainable. Drink now. Screw cap."

90/100 points, James Suckling, August 2025

Food Match: Ideal with fresh oysters or fresh crayfish on the grill. Great with goat's cheese too.