
At Waterkloof, we are firm believers in the potential in South Africa for warmer climate Mediterranean grape varieties. For example, two of our most planted reds are Mourvèdre and Syrah. However, with a vineyard only 4km from The Atlantic, our cool, windswept site also suits white varieties that are perceived by most as cooler climate, such as Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc. These two make up the majority of our white plantings and are the mainstay of our Circle of Life White.
However, we do also have a little parcel of the Mediterranean white -Viognier- from which we make a meagre 600-1000 bottles per year. Whilst for obvious reasons, we couldn’t enter Circle of Life White into a recent Decanter Blind Tasting of Cape Mediterranean Whites, we thought we’d throw in our little Viognier to see how it stood up against the Cape’s very top producers (to see who exactly you’ll have to look out for the article in the June 2015 edition of Decanter)
We can tell you that Circumstance Viognier was one of only 13 wines rated 90/100 or above. Here’s what Tim Atkin MW, Greg Sherwood MW and Adrian Garforth MW made of our effort: