Top 5 South African Sauvignon Blanc Wines
I live a hop and a skip away from Constantia. So it’s safe to say that, after decades of visiting this wine region, it has defined my expectations of the grape. However, there is something about the distinctive greener flavour profiles from Durbanville that I often find myself craving. And the wines from Elgin and Cape Agulhas, with their intense minerality are what I most repurchase. So here are my current Top 5 South African Sauvignon Blancs:
Klein Constantia Metis

I often walk away from the Klein Constantia tasting experience with a bottle of the exquisite Perdeblokke Sauvignon Blanc and, rare for Constantia, Riesling (I’ve learned that there’s little room in my life for opening a Vin de Constance). Yet, the wine that always makes a big impact on me is the Metis. don’t think I’ve ever posted about this wine…but drink it pretty regularly.
There’s a moment when you settle in at Klein Constantia’s tasting room after spending the day hopping from Constantia farm to Constantia farm…tasting Savvy B after Savvy B. You’ll be poured a flight of SB and instantly recognise that one wine is quite different to the others. It is distinct and sets itself apart from everything else in Constantia…and the Western Cape. Leading with with wet stone-like minerality, precision and purity…and resolving itself with blackcurrant leaf and salinity. It’s sometimes more tropical, sometimes more lime. The number of times that the majority of blind tasters in the room deduce this as Loire is very telling…and at sub R300, I really should listen to my wallet and choose this instead of the Perdeblokke!
Bringing Back The Joy Skin Contact Sauvignon Blanc 2019
Made by Chris Groenewald - someone who I’ve long admired for his exceptional wine tasting abilities (he’s been part of the SA Blind Wine Tasting Team more times than I can remember). This was my first experience with a local Sauvignon Blanc with extended skin contact. Jalapenos and capers (the poor man’s caviar according to a good friend!) - the first time I could definitively identify those characteristics in a Sauv Blanc. This is a wine that could convince the SB sceptics! It’s so wonderfully complex, unusual and satisfying. And, again, I’m picking this because of how distinctive the wine is.

Cape Of Good Hope Altima Sauvignon Blanc

This wine often appears in blind tastings…and most of the room will utter’ I know this Sauvignon Blanc…I know this wine’. And we do know this wine very well. The green label always makes me smile…usually followed by popping it into my basket because it is a guaranteed winner. Grown in Elandskloof, it is textbook tropical fruits, guava leaves, asparagus, peas and grass. But it’s always the sensual slinky texture taming the acidity that has me returning time and again.
Deep Rooted Wines Journey to the Centre of the Universe Blanc Fumé
This was a surprise find for me…tasted at a wine event, it stopped me in my tracks. Hailing from Sondagskloof, this boutique wine is memorable for the rounder, nuttier and creamier notes than were expected: oats, honey, hay, poached apples, burnt sugar and metallic tinny minerality…weight! It was a delightfully reserved expression of Sauvignon Blanc that I will eagerly repurchase. This is also one to possible convince the SB sceptics1

Spioenkop Sauvignon Blanc 1900

I was recently reintroduced to this wine at an Ex Animo tasting. Try as I might (because it’s fun and necessary to be extra critical of Savvy B), I could not fault a single thing about it. It was textbook perfection…coupled with the winemaker Koen Roose’s mastery for making precise wines that almost sting with their clarity and focus. Raised in the cold altitudes of Elgin, the slate-like stoniness, green fig, fennel bulb, blackcurrant leaves and citrus are exquisite. I’d also tasted an aged example of his Queen Manthatisi Sauvignon Blanc a few months ago…and, no surprises, it was my wine of the evening!
Special shout outs got to the Il Geco Sauvignon Blanc 2021, Strandveld Pofadder, and Trizanne Signature Wines Sondagskloof White Savvy B's!
Please note that this list does not include Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blends.
Disclaimer: I have not tasted every single SA wine. These are the wines that are memorable to me and that, in my opinion, deserve a mention. These lists are subject to change/updates as I explore more wines. Discourse is always encouraged - I look forward to learning from you.