Baleia Sauvignon Blanc
£14.89
£19.85 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
Out of Stock
16.5Jancis Robinson
Best Sauvignon Blanc in a Unique Terroir, Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards (2019)
Most Sauvignon Blanc shouts. This one whispers, and you lean in closer. Grown on pure limestone in a remote, whale-watched corner of the Cape South Coast, Baleia trades the usual zingy gooseberry for something rarer: green fig, crisp litchi and a salty, mineral hum that makes your mouth water. A serious white for people who think they have Sauvignon figured out.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
Our Verdict
We tasted this alongside a long line of Cape Sauvignon Blancs, and it was the one that made us stop and pay attention. Most are made to flatter; this is made to mean something. That limestone-driven salinity gives it a poise and a sense of place you simply do not get at this price, and it is no surprise it took Best Sauvignon Blanc in a Unique Terroir at the Novare SA Terroir Wine Awards. We listed it for the curious drinker, the one who orders fish and wants a white with real character rather than just bite. It is a quiet gem, and we only have a little of it, so do not dawdle.
Tasting Notes
Pale gold with a green glint. The nose leads with elderflower and green fig, then a wave of litchi and a salty whisper of sea mist that tells you this grew near the coast. The palate is where it gets interesting: granadilla, guava and a streak of prickly pear, all carried on a fine, saline minerality drawn straight from limestone soil. That salt keeps the fruit taut rather than sweet, and the finish stays long, crisp and mouthwatering, leaving you reaching for the next sip.
Litchi and Green Fig
Juicy litchi and crisp green fig give this its lifted, aromatic core, fresh and fragrant rather than tropical and sweet.
Saline Minerality
Pure limestone soil leaves a fine salty thread through the palate, the detail that keeps every sip clean and food-friendly.
Sea Mist Lift
A coastal, almost briny edge sits behind the fruit, a reminder this grew in a remote pocket of the Cape South Coast.
About This Wine
Here is a Sauvignon Blanc that does not play by the rules, and you will be glad it does not. While most of the category chases easy, upfront fruit, Baleia heads the other way: texture, restraint and a thread of minerality that runs right through the glass. Pour it well chilled and you will find pale, greenish gold in the glass and a nose of elderflower and green fig, more intriguing than obvious.
The palate is where it earns its keep. Juicy litchi and crisp pear lead into granadilla, guava and a flick of prickly pear, all held together by a saline, stony freshness that keeps everything taut and lifted. That savoury edge is no accident. Baleia is the only winery on the Lower Duiwenhoks river in a wild, unspoilt pocket of the Cape South Coast, and its vines grow in pure limestone with exceptionally high mineral content. You can taste the place.
This is a food wine first and foremost. It is brilliant with grilled white fish, fresh oysters, a plate of calamari, or goat's cheese and a herby summer salad. It also has more backbone than most fresh-style Sauvignon, so it will reward a year or two in the rack if you can resist it.
We deliver across the UK, usually within a few days, and it makes a genuinely thoughtful gift for anyone who loves to discover wines off the beaten track.
Food Pairing
That saline backbone makes this a natural with seafood. Pour it alongside a plate of grilled sardines, fresh oysters, or fish and chips with a good squeeze of lemon. It also cuts cleanly through a goat's cheese salad or a Thai green prawn curry, the fruit standing up to the spice while the minerality refreshes the palate between mouthfuls.
- —Freshly shucked oysters with lemon
- —Grilled sardines with sea salt
- —Beer-battered fish and chips
- —Goat's cheese and rocket salad
- —Thai green prawn curry
How to Serve
Temperature
Serve well chilled, around 8 degrees. An hour in the fridge or twenty minutes in an ice bucket is ideal.
Decanting
No decanting needed. This is built on freshness and lift, so pour it straight from a well-chilled bottle and let the aromatics show in the glass.
Glass
A medium tulip-shaped white wine glass focuses the elderflower and litchi while keeping the wine cool.
Cellaring
Store cool, dark and on its side. Suitable for short keeping of two to three years from vintage, but no longer.
Behind the Wine
The Cape South Coast is a cool, slow-ripening corner of the wine world, and that matters here. Long, gentle growing seasons let the grapes hold onto their natural acidity while flavour builds slowly, giving this Sauvignon Blanc its aromatic precision and crisp backbone. Baleia leans into that restraint rather than chasing easy tropical fruit. The result is a white with freshness, structure and a real sense of where it comes from, rather than something loud and forgettable.
Ageing Potential
Drinking beautifully now and best enjoyed over the two to three years following the vintage. The limestone-driven structure gives it slightly more staying power than most fresh-style Sauvignon Blanc, so expect the bright fruit to soften gently into rounder, more savoury territory if you hold it.
The Land
The vines grow in pure limestone soil with an exceptionally high mineral content, and you can taste it. That chalky, mineral-rich base feeds the wine's fine structure and gives it a delicate saline thread, a natural salt drawn straight from the ground. It is also why this Sauvignon Blanc ages a little better than most fresh-style examples: the limestone lends backbone, not just brightness.
The Winemaking
There is an easy way to make Sauvignon Blanc: pick early, push the green and tropical aromatics, bottle something bright and uncomplicated. Baleia deliberately doesn't. The focus here is texture and minerality drawn from the site itself, letting the limestone soils speak through the wine rather than burying them under upfront fruit. That choice gives you a Sauvignon Blanc with layers and a saline, food-friendly grip, juicy litchi, granadilla and guava up front, but a fine, structured finish underneath that keeps you coming back to the glass.
The Western Cape Region
Le Domaine draws its fruit from vineyards scattered across the Western Cape, from coastal sites cooled by Atlantic breezes to warmer inland slopes, all planted between 50 and 300 metres above sea level. This broad sourcing is deliberate. By blending components from different microclimates, the cellar builds a consistent house style that balances the crisp acidity of cooler sites with the ripe generosity of warmer ones. It's the Western Cape's extraordinary diversity captured in a single glass.
About the Producer
Baleia
Baleia is a true one-off. It is the only winery on the Lower Duiwenhoks river at Vermaaklikheid, a remote and unspoilt pocket of the southern Cape coast where almost nobody else has thought to plant vines. The Joubert family established it in 2009, drawn by the Mediterranean climate and a stretch of rare limestone soil, and built their whole philosophy around it: living soils, strong roots, healthy vines, fruit that honestly reflects its place. Baleia is Portuguese for whale, a nod to St Sebastian Bay, the whale nursery on their doorstep, and those striking labels carry that story. This is wine made by people chasing harmony with a wild landscape, not chasing trends.