Description

When we visited “surerfboy” Duncan Savage at Cape Point Winery in 2009 he was considered the Western Cape’s “rising star” for innovative white wine production.  Fast forward to 2025, Savage still likes the surf, but is now considered South Africa’s foremost, premier white wine specialist especially when it comes to Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc!  

In 2019, Savage stumbled upon a block of old Sauvignon Blanc bush vines in Stellenbosch. The elevation, wind and vine age all pointed in the right direction and after a bit of experimentation, Salt River Sauvignon Blanc was born. Duncan Savage fell in love with the wine and vineyard, and decided to create a brand and style separate from the rest of the Savage Range. Salt River is located in the heart of the city of Cape Town which is also the home of Savage Wines.

The 2024 Salt River Sauvignon Blanc is a blend of five different vineyard sites located around Stellenbosch. The anchor of the wine is the now a 40-year-old bush vine vineyard grown on the slopes of Bottelary. The other components are trellised and bush vine vineyards, with various different aspects, planted in granitic soil. These vineyards have combined exceptionally well in creating this briny-saline mineral style of Sauvignon. The Sauvignon Blanc is fermented in a combination of stainless steel tanks, concrete eggs and old barrels. The wine spends four months on lees before being bottled, followed by another two months in the bottle prior to release.

Flavors of yellow fruit and citrus with lovely mineral tension and a fresh saline finish. While Salt River Sauvignon Blanc will age beautifully in bottle over the next few years, the idea is to pull the cork and enjoy!  Aside from just down right thirst quenching, the Salt River is the perfect white for chilly, fresh shucked oysters or other shellfish.