Waterkloof Circle of Life Red
£12.99
£17.32 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
In Stock — 16 bottles available
5Platter's South African Wine Guide
A red blend that drinks like a love letter to its farm. Waterkloof's Circle of Life Red gathers the best of a biodynamic Stellenbosch estate into one expressive bottle, dark cherry, cassis and a herbaceous lift, with the kind of savoury depth that only living soils seem to deliver. Honest, food-friendly, and quietly thrilling.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
Our Verdict
We've tasted a lot of Stellenbosch blends, and Circle of Life keeps earning its place on our shelves. It's not the loudest wine in the room, and that's exactly the point. There's a quiet seriousness here, a savoury thread running through the dark fruit that hints at the biodynamic farming behind it. This is the bottle we reach for when we want a red that rewards proper food and a bit of patience in the glass. Ideal for the curious drinker who's bored of polished, identikit Cabernet and wants something with a genuine sense of place.
Tasting Notes
A full-bodied Cape blend that opens with black cherry and cassis, layered with dark berry fruit and a whisper of herbaceous lift, think bruised bay leaf and crushed fynbos. Time in oak adds soft vanilla and a dusting of cinnamon, while the tannins arrive firm and grippy, giving the wine real structure and a long, savoury finish. This is a wine that rewards patience in the glass, give it air, and the layers unfold.
About This Wine
Some wines are built in the cellar. This one is grown in the soil, and you can taste it. Waterkloof's Circle of Life Red is a snapshot of the entire estate, perched high on the Schapenberg above False Bay, where the Atlantic wind keeps the vines honest and the grapes ripen slowly. The result is a red blend that doesn't shout. It speaks. In the glass, expect dark cherry and cassis up front, then a savoury, herbaceous twist, think wild fynbos, a turn of black pepper, a whisper of cedar from older oak. The fruit is generous but never jammy, the tannins firm but polished, the finish long and faintly earthy. This is full-bodied South African red wine that takes its job seriously: it's made to be drunk with food, with friends, and with time enough to let it breathe. Waterkloof farms organically and biodynamically, draught horses in the vineyards, cattle and sheep grazing the cover crops, wild yeasts in the cellar. None of that matters if the wine doesn't deliver, but here it absolutely does. Pour it alongside a herb-crusted rack of lamb, a Sunday roast, or a slow-braised oxtail and watch it open up beautifully. We ship across the UK, usually within a few days, and it makes a thoughtful gift for anyone who cares where their wine comes from.
Food Pairing
Built for the table. The firm tannins and savoury fruit cry out for char and fat, a rack of lamb with a herb crust is the classic pairing, but a Sunday rib of beef, sticky pork ribs from the barbecue, or even a rich, bacon-laced carbonara all work brilliantly. Mature hard cheeses and a slow-cooked oxtail stew will also do this wine proud.
- —Rack of lamb with a mustard and herb crust
- —Slow-roasted rib of beef with roast potatoes
- —Spaghetti carbonara with smoked pancetta
- —Sticky barbecued pork ribs
- —Mature Cheddar with quince paste
How to Serve
Decanting
Worth a decant. Give it at least an hour in a wide-bottomed decanter, the tannins need air to relax and the fruit takes time to push past the oak and reveal its herbaceous lift.
Ageing & Cellaring
Drinking well now, but with proper structure to evolve in bottle for another five to eight years. Expect the tannins to soften, the fruit to take on darker, more savoury tones, and a leathery, earthy complexity to emerge alongside the cinnamon spice.
The Land
Vineyards sit high on the Schapenberg, exposed to constant ocean winds off False Bay and the Atlantic. Living soils, kept loose by horse-drawn cultivation and grazing livestock rather than machinery, encourage roots to push deep. The combination of altitude, sea-cooled air and naturally low yields gives grapes that ripen slowly and hang onto their freshness.
The Winemaking
Everything here points back to restraint. Wild yeasts kick off fermentation in open-top wooden vats, no inoculations, no shortcuts, with hand punch-downs and gentle foot-pressing coaxing colour and flavour from the skins. Ageing happens mostly in older oak, which lets the fruit and savoury herb character lead rather than smothering it in vanilla and toast. The result is a red that feels worked by hand rather than engineered, full-bodied but with a fine grip of tannin holding everything in place.
About the Producer
Boutinot
Paul Boutinot spent years searching the world for a site that could make wine on his terms. He found it on the Schapenberg, a windswept ridge above Somerset West looking out over False Bay and the Atlantic. From day one Waterkloof was farmed organically, with biodynamic conversion following soon after. Cattle, sheep and goats roam the estate producing compost and grazing cover crops, and draught horses do the work tractors usually do, keeping the soil loose and alive. Cellarmaster Nadia Barnard, who joined at the very beginning and now runs the cellar, takes those naturally balanced grapes and gives them as little intervention as possible. It's farming as philosophy, and you can taste it.