There are few Stellenbosch wine-farms that carry Sauvignon Blanc in their bloodstream quite like Delheim. Long before the variety became South Africa's most planted white, Spatz Sperling was already convinced of its place on the slopes of the Simonsberg. He planted in the 1970s, released the first Delheim Sauvignon Blanc as a wooded Blanc Fumé in 1981 with Kevin Arnold at the cellar helm, and helped set the wider Stellenbosch story in motion as part of the team behind the Stellenbosch Wine Routes in 1971. And if there is a wine that truly tastes like spring in a glass, it has to be the newly released Sauvignon Blanc from this year’s vintage.
That aforementioned Sperling pioneering spirit still shapes the Delheim Sauvignon Blanc 2026. Today the estate is owned and managed by Spatz's children, Victor Sperling and Nora Thiel, and the farm’s Sauvignon Blanc wine is unwooded, precise and site-driven, bearing the clarity and brightness that a new season springs to the Cape winelands. Its origins are in the high, cool vineyards between 300m and 440m above sea-level, rooted in Oakleaf soils with a south-west facing aspect. And the vineyard blocks still carry the names Spatz gave them — Klippies, Plankie, Peperboom and Klapmutskop — planted between 1985 and 2002 and trellised on VSP.
Winemaker Roelof Lotriet reads the vintage through that mountain vineyard. "We pick at varying ripeness to capture the full character of the grape," he says. "The earlier pickings bring bright citrus and lime zest. The riper parcels bring passion fruit and granadilla. A few select blocks get up to six hours skin contact, then fermentation in concrete vessels and stainless-steel tanks at 13–15°C keeps the expression focused and alive."
And it shows in the glass. The 2026 feels light-toned and expressive, with citrus and granadilla lifting from the glass and a palate that stays soft yet mouth-watering. This is the bottle for sitting on the terrace at Delheim, poured well-chilled on an estate known for its natural splendour. While the Sauvignon Blanc asserts itself so delightfully on the senses of taste and smell, this wine also opens up in Delheim’s enchanting natural environment which is a bejewelled case of natural biodiversity. The African hoopoe calls from the lawns. Klaas’s cuckoo and piet-my-vrou sound through summer. Malachite and double-collared sunbirds work the fynbos edge while Table Mountain sits far on the horizon. It all leaves you feeling touched by nature in that quiet, unhurried way Delheim does so well.
Hand-picked in the cool of the early morning, racked off primary lees and lightly filtered before bottling, Delheim Sauvignon Blanc is made for near-term pleasure. Drink now or within four years from vintage, with a chicken Caesar salad variation or grilled aubergine alongside. Delheim’s Sauvignon Blanc remains a Simonsberg original, best enjoyed slowly where it was grown.