Paul Boutinot and his team planted plenty of Cabernet Franc upon taking over the property and judging by the early results, it certainly has a great future ahead of it on Waterkloof.

On the nose this is a classic Cabernet Franc with hints of pencil shaving, tomato leaf and lovely red fruits. The mouth feel is long, elegant with a memorable finish and weightless tannins. Cabernet Franc’s liveliness makes it an excellent food wine.

Living soils and a natural approach to winemaking means that each of the single-varietal wines in the Circumstance range is truly defined by the circumstances influencing the chosen varietal and vineyard blocks, including: soil, aspect, altitude and vintage. The Cabernet Franc is from two adjoining, windswept, south-facing (less sun exposure) blocks 240-60m above and a mere 2 miles from The Atlantic. These factors combine to produce low yields, balanced grapes and wines with a true sense of place. Grapes are hand-harvested and brought to the cellar by horses for hand-sorting. De-stemming and sorting takes place and fermentation happens spontaneously with wild yeast in large, open-top wooden fermenters. Manual punch-downs or foot-pressing pigeage take place 1-2 times per day and the wine is left on skins for 35 days before going through malolactic fermentation in mainly old barriques then ageing for 23 months in the same vessels. No fining, just a light filtration. No additons other than sulphur. Vegan friendly, biodynamic wine. 65 barrels made.