Professor Black Sauvignon Blanc
£15.49
£20.65 per litre · incl. 20% VAT
Only 3 bottles left
Warwick Estate's Professor Black is Stellenbosch Sauvignon Blanc with a story, named after a peach-loving university professor, sourced from mountain-side vines on the Simonsberg, and built around the kind of zippy precision that makes you reach for a second glass. Elderflower, passionfruit, and a chalky lime finish. Crisp, lifted, and properly distinctive.
Not for sale to persons under 18. Adult signature required on delivery.
UK wide delivery
Expert curated
Our Verdict
We taste a lot of South African Sauvignon Blanc, and the field is fiercely competitive, which is exactly why Professor Black keeps earning its place on our list. There's a precision to this wine that you don't always find at the price: real elderflower lift, ripe tropical fruit kept honest by chalky acidity, and a textural quality from the skin contact that sets it apart from the leaner Cape style. It's our pick for anyone who loves a proper Sauvignon with character, or anyone wanting to send a Stellenbosch white that punches well above its weight. A customer favourite, and easy to see why.
Tasting Notes
Lift the glass and you get that classic Simonsberg signal, elderflower and crushed nettle, ripe passionfruit and a fresh squeeze of lime. The palate follows through with real precision: zesty citrus oils, green fig, and a wet-stone minerality that keeps everything taut. Skin contact before pressing gives it texture you can feel, a faint waxiness through the mid-palate, before a long, mouth-watering finish where passionfruit and grapefruit pith linger.
About This Wine
Some Sauvignon Blancs whisper; this one sings. Warwick Estate's Professor Black comes from two parcels planted high on the slopes of the Simonsberg, where cool mountain air and granitic soils give the grapes time to develop aromatic complexity without losing their nerve. The result is a Sauvignon with real personality, lifted, layered, and unmistakably Stellenbosch. Expect a bouquet of elderflower, fresh nettles, and crushed lime leaf, followed by a palate that bursts open with ripe passionfruit, white peach, and a chalky, mineral finish that runs long. Multiple pickings across the harvest, an early-morning crush, and a short period of skin contact in stainless steel give the wine its textural depth, there's grip here, not just zip. It's a thinking-drinker's Sauvignon, the kind that rewards a proper glass and a quiet moment. Pour it well-chilled alongside grilled prawns, a goat's cheese salad, or a simple bowl of linguine with lemon and herbs. It's also brilliant on its own as a summer aperitif on the patio, or as a thoughtful gift for the Sauvignon fan who's tired of the same old Marlborough. Delivered to your door anywhere in the UK, usually within a few working days. The story behind the label, a Stellenbosch professor who used Warwick's land to experiment with peach trees, only adds to the charm. The peaches are gone; the wine remains.
Food Pairing
Made for the table. It cuts brilliantly through buttery fish dishes, think pan-fried sea bass or a plate of fish and chips with plenty of lemon. The herbaceous edge loves anything green: a goat's cheese and asparagus tart, a pile of summer peas with mint. Also outstanding with Thai prawn noodles, where the citrus picks up the lime and chilli.
- —Pan-fried sea bass with brown butter and capers
- —Goat's cheese and asparagus tart
- —Thai prawn noodles with lime and chilli
- —Fresh oysters with a squeeze of lemon
- —Grilled chicken Caesar salad
How to Serve
Decanting
No need to decant, but don't serve it ice-cold straight from the door of the fridge either. Letting it warm slightly in the glass releases the elderflower and passionfruit aromatics that make this wine sing.
Ageing & Cellaring
Drinks beautifully on release and will happily hold for another three to four years. The bright acidity gives it more staying power than many Cape Sauvignons, expect the primary tropical fruit to soften slightly and a richer, waxier texture to develop with a year or two in bottle.
The Land
The fruit comes from two blocks perched high on the Simonsberg, planted nearly two decades apart. Altitude is the key here, cool mountain air slows ripening and locks in the natural acidity, while the granitic foothill soils give the wine its mineral backbone and that taut, focused line running through the fruit.
The Winemaking
Hand-picked in the cool of early morning, the fruit comes in over multiple passes through the vineyard, each picking capturing a different layer of aromatics and ripeness. Whole bunches go straight to stainless steel for six to twelve hours of skin contact, drawing out texture and aromatic depth before a gentle pressing. Fermentation is cool and unhurried in tank, with no oak to muddy the picture. The result is a Sauvignon Blanc built on clarity, tension, and layered fruit rather than overt winemaking.