Waterkloof adds to Circumstance range

By Mathew Lyons

Published: 03 February, 2020

Paul Boutinot’s South African estate Waterkloof has added two new wines to its Circumstance range.

Both new releases have been crafted using the little-used Mourvèdre grape. Waterkloof has 9.5ha of the varietal planted at around 320m above sea level on the ocean-facing, fynbos-covered slopes of the Schapenberg, part of the Helderberg mountain range.

The primary release is the Cape Coral 2019 Mourvèdre Rosé, a previous vintage of which was compared by Jancis Robinson MW to Bandol’s Domaine Tempier Rosé.

Winemaker Nadia Barnard-Langenegger said: “Every year I look forward to every aspect of making this wine; finding that optimal ripeness and carrying the character of the fruit through to the wine.

“To make that happen, pressing is gentle to retain both the beautiful, light-pink colour and a soft mouthfeel. Of course, we try not to interfere with nature. The juice is left to ferment with the wild yeast that occur naturally in the vineyards.

“Our guiding principle is to create what we call ‘honest wine’ – wine that’s true to its terroir.”

The other new addition to the range is the Mourvèdre 2017. First produced using the 2015 vintage, the 2017 is the first to be made available to the UK on- and off-trade.

Mourvèdre’s ability to withstand strong winds, heat and drought may give it a big role in South Africa’s winemaking future, Paul Boutinot believes.

“First and foremost, Mourvèdre suits the particularities of our site. The few truly fine renditions of this varietal are grown by the sea. It loves maritime breezes and Waterkloof is just four kilometres from The Atlantic," he said.

“More generally for South Africa’s winelands however, it can handle the Cape’s gale-force winds, even when planted to bush vine as it is here. Most pertinently -given expected future weather patterns in The Western Cape- it is also a hardy, heat and drought resistant varietal.”

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