diff --git a/dd-trace-core/src/test/groovy/datadog/trace/api/writer/DDAgentWriterTest.groovy b/dd-trace-core/src/test/groovy/datadog/trace/api/writer/DDAgentWriterTest.groovy
index d3e01fa36f5..8893c6a4d99 100644
--- a/dd-trace-core/src/test/groovy/datadog/trace/api/writer/DDAgentWriterTest.groovy
+++ b/dd-trace-core/src/test/groovy/datadog/trace/api/writer/DDAgentWriterTest.groovy
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@ package datadog.trace.api.writer
 import com.timgroup.statsd.StatsDClient
 import datadog.trace.api.sampling.PrioritySampling
 import datadog.trace.common.writer.DDAgentWriter
-import datadog.trace.common.writer.ddagent.DDAgentApi 
+import datadog.trace.common.writer.ddagent.DDAgentApi
+import datadog.trace.common.writer.ddagent.DispatchingDisruptor
 import datadog.trace.common.writer.ddagent.Monitor
 import datadog.trace.common.writer.ddagent.MsgPackStatefulSerializer
 import datadog.trace.common.writer.ddagent.TraceBuffer
@@ -18,6 +19,7 @@ import org.msgpack.core.buffer.ArrayBufferOutput
 import spock.lang.Retry
 import spock.lang.Timeout
 
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors
 import java.util.concurrent.Phaser
 import java.util.concurrent.Semaphore
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit
@@ -672,6 +674,50 @@ class DDAgentWriterTest extends DDSpecification {
     writer.close()
   }
 
+  def "test backed up buffer"() {
+    setup:
+    System.gc() // seems to reduce false negatives
+    def minimalTrace = createMinimalTrace()
+    AtomicInteger backedUp = new AtomicInteger(0)
+    def serializer = Spy(new MsgPackStatefulSerializer())
+    def monitor = Mock(Monitor)
+    def api = Mock(DDAgentApi)
+    def arbitrator = Executors.newSingleThreadScheduledExecutor()
+    def dispatcher = new DispatchingDisruptor(2,
+      DDAgentWriter.toEventFactory(serializer),
+      api,
+      monitor,
+      Mock(DDAgentWriter))
+    dispatcher.start()
+
+    when:
+    api.sendSerializedTraces(_) >> {
+      // wait to be unblocked, by which time the test aims to have created a backlog
+      Thread.sleep(500)
+      DDAgentApi.Response.success(200)
+    }
+    // if the code below can't run within a second,
+    // the test will fail, but this behaviour is hard to provoke with latches
+    monitor.onBackedUpTraceBuffer() >> { backedUp.incrementAndGet() }
+    long txnId1 = dispatcher.beginTransaction()
+    serializer.reset(dispatcher.getTraceBuffer(txnId1))
+    serializer.serialize(minimalTrace)
+    dispatcher.commit(txnId1)
+    long txnId2 = dispatcher.beginTransaction()
+    serializer.reset(dispatcher.getTraceBuffer(txnId2))
+    serializer.serialize(minimalTrace)
+    dispatcher.commit(txnId2)
+    long txnId3 = dispatcher.beginTransaction()
+
+    then:
+    backedUp.get() >= 1 // reported the congestion
+    txnId3 == 2 // made progress eventually
+
+    cleanup:
+    dispatcher.close()
+    arbitrator.shutdownNow()
+  }
+
   static int calculateSize(List<DDSpan> trace) {
     def buffer = new ArrayBufferOutput()
     def packer = MessagePack.DEFAULT_PACKER_CONFIG