2021 Savage, Salt River, Sauvignon Blanc, Western Cape, South Africa
Critics reviews
Full bottle 1,322 g. Fruit from a 32-year-old bush-vine vineyard in Stellenbosch and another coastal site in Walker Bay.
Salty, smoky, and so classy. The pineapple plushness is balanced by the bite of pale-yellow grapefruit-peel bitterness and fragrant oiliness, giving it body, weight and an intriguing saponaceous texture. Bitter almonds and paper-tree bark. Unusual, sophisticated Sauvignon.
Drink 2022 - 2025
Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com (November 2022)
About this WINE
Savage
After 11 years producing Platter five-star wines at Cape Point Vineyards, Duncan Savage finally realised his dream of producing his own red and white wine before the age of 35 with his maiden (2011 red, 2012 white) vintage. The wines received high critical acclaim (four and a half stars each from Platter) with Duncan once again in the spotlight as one of the most exciting young talents in South African winemaking. The wines are made with the blessing of Cape Point where he still works as winemaker and viticulturalist.
Duncan’s aim is to produce elegant wines which reflect their terroir and he does this by using fruit from old vines with whole bunch fermentation, minimal intervention and use of old wood, and also amphorae for the Savage Red. Duncan says that the key is to “do as little as possible, as much as you can.” These are exciting new wines to watch on the South African scene, both of them capable of long ageing. Again, availability is limited.
Sauvignon Blanc
An important white grape in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley that has now found fame in New Zealand and now Chile. It thrives on the gravelly soils of Bordeaux and is blended with Sémillon to produce fresh, dry, crisp Bordeaux Blancs, as well as more prestigious Cru Classé White Graves.
It is also blended with Sémillon, though in lower proportions, to produce the great sweet wines of Sauternes. It performs well in the Loire Valley and particularly on the well-drained chalky soils found in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, where it produces bone dry, highly aromatic, racy wines, with grassy and sometimes smoky, gunflint-like nuances.
In New Zealand, Cloudy Bay in the 1980s began producing stunning Sauvignon Blanc wines with extraordinarily intense nettly, gooseberry, and asparagus fruit, that set Marlborough firmly on the world wine map. Today many producers are rivalling Cloudy Bay in terms of quality and Sauvignon Blanc is now New Zealand`s trademark grape.
It is now grown very successfully in Chile producing wines that are almost halfway between the Loire and New Zealand in terms of fruit character. After several false starts, many South African producers are now producing very good quality, rounded fruit-driven Sauvignon Blancs.
Buying options
Add to wishlist
Description
Duncan Savage took inspiration for Salt River from a plot of 32-year-old bush vine Sauvignon Blanc that he came across in Stellenbosch in 2019. He now sources only special plots with restrained mineral characteristics to make this unbelievably good-value little wine.
The aromas are delicate and subtle, different from what you would expect from a South African expression of this variety. There is a grassy element, but this also has notes of honey and wild peach. The palate is lean and delicate, with a subtle yellow apple and ripe gooseberry character. Really mineral, this is all about pure, pebble-stone refreshment.
The whole feel of the wine is lovely, with a textural yellow peach fleshiness in the mouth, all held together by vibrant acidity and a peach kernel edge. The bright and lively finish lingers with notes of sea salt, roasted almond skin and lemon pith. Just brilliant.
Drink now to 2025
Catriona Felstead MW, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd (August 2022)
wine at a glance
Delivery and quality guarantee